


Humanity's Hope

by inuyashamunkey



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (But not too modern tbh), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Shifters, Anxiety, Armin and Eren are bros, BFFs, Captain Eren, Captain Levi, Dietary restrictions, Dog-shifter Eren, Ear Scratches, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Garrison Eren, Human Trafficking, I don't know if it's explicit yet, I love all of them and want to hug all of them at once, Injury, Jean gets sick easily, M/M, MxMxM, One of the babes might not be from the best family, Polyamory, Shifter AU, Vice-captain Jean, Violence, Wolf-shifter Jean, but not for long, cat-shifter Levi, it's super cute, obviously, they live together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-06-08 18:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15249270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inuyashamunkey/pseuds/inuyashamunkey
Summary: The Survey Corps has had a severe lack of talented shifters among their ranks, leaving their existing shifters at a disadvantage in squads that slow them down and keep them from their true potential.To remedy this, Commander Dot Pixis, Commander Erwin Smith, and Commander Nile Dok have decided to put their most promising shifters on one, singular squad.Captain Eren Jaeger, a dog-shifter in the Garrison.Vice-captain Jean Kirchstein, a wolf-shifter in the Survey Corps.Captain Levi Ackerman, a cat-shifter in the Survey Corps.On separate squads, they're remarkable. On the same squad? They'll shake the ground as they walk.And they're called Humanity's Hope.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> **I like shifter AUs so I decided to write this, but don't expect updates often, you'll probably be disappointed, sorry.**
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> Also feel free to tell me how you think everything is going to turn out...it might give me ideas.

Eren Jaeger; Twenty-five-years-old.

He had bright, blazing green eyes that could turn cold and hard at the turn of a second and light up with laughter and mirth just as quickly. His brown hair, reminiscent of the fur that covered him when he shifted, was always shaggy and unkempt which gave him a rough appearance. Add these things to his tall, attractively muscled form and you've got one _hell_ of a scary wet dream.

He was the youngest captain the Garrison had ever seen; Spending merely a year as a new recruit before commandeering his own squad and single-handedly turning it from the worst to the best. With sixteen arrests and ten assists in the past year since, they were one of the most sought-after squads in Trost.

Just in the past year, his team had gone undercover for nearly a month, gathering intel that they would eventually use to take down one of the most troublesome gangs in Trost, The Female Titans.

Despite all of that, Eren was still called the sweetest captain in the Garrison. His bedside manner was impeccable, he could calm any child with just a wag of his tail, and charm any adult with one of his toothy grins. He was the one first-responders sent out to calm wounded and distraught people in the midst of disaster and the last to leave the hospital the night after.

Eren Jaeger, in a corrupted place like the Garrison, was somewhat of a rarity.

A hidden gem, if you will.

~

Jean Kirchstein; Twenty-one-years-old.

He was tall with slim muscles and he had bleach-blonde hair with a rusty brown undercut that was kept purposefully choppy. He had dark, narrow eyes that were more often irritated or angry than happy or joyful, his unamused nature giving him the, not really funny, title of _'Lone Wolf'_ ; These things added to his prowess as the most promising recruit in the Survey Corps, and you might say he didn't have many friends.

Despite his grumpy, unapproachable look, Jean Kirchstein had shown time and time again to work best when working with a team, working well as a vice-captain -despite never having been given the official title of vice-captain in any of the three teams he worked with. He'd made twenty-three arrests in his time of _'Ghost-riding'_ teams 4AA, 6A1, and, most notably, 2A3.

During his time with section squad 2A3, Jean Kirchstein assisted in protecting Wall Rose during a terrorist attack and earned himself a high honors award.

Jean Kirchstein was average.

But also...kind of not at all.

~

Levi Ackerman; twenty-eight-years-old

Levi Ackerman had officially been a part of the Survey Corps for ten years, not having been in recruits' training the years before. He was, perhaps, the most outstanding person the Corps had to offer.

The fact that he joined under suspicious circumstances quickly faded from his superiors' minds the second they saw how he handled the MP Massacre in his first two years of employment and then, just two more after that, He'd taken down the Ackerman drug ring and got himself promoted to captain of his own squad, the first captain in the Survey Corps to reach their title at just twenty-two. The Corps expected a lot of him.

Oh, and he delivered. Not without his own... _personal_ touch, however.

He insisted, for reasons unknown to all but Erwin Smith himself, that his first job as captain was to take down not just one more of Kenny Ackerman's operations, but _two._ In one fell swoop, he had taken out Trost's most prominent underground criminal overlord, swiping his human-trafficking ring and his shifter-fighting ring right from under his feet.

To add to that, he'd had a large hand in arresting fugitive terrorists who had bombed Wall Rose, taking thousands of lives including one of Rose's most loved Monarchs.

Levi Ackerman had rightfully received five highly regarded awards for his noble deeds.

He hated all of them.

~

Eren, Levi, and Jean stood in a line with their backs straight and their faces expressing a variety of thinly masked expressions. Erwin Smith stood in front of them, similarly postured and scanning each of their faces in an uncomfortable silence. 

This had been going on for three minutes and counting.

This, inevitably, made Eren sweat through his freshly-ironed shirt. _(Sorry Armin.)_ Having been in the Garrison for the whole of his three years as a soldier, he'd never had to step foot in the Survey Corps buildings. He'd never even wanted to, not when he'd heard the stories of how things went when they were sent in to see Commander Erwin Smith.

Commander Erwin Smith was said to be ruthless. He didn't take imperfection within his ranks and he made it explicitly known. It was actually the main reason Eren decided to join the Garrison, though he liked to think that didn't make him the coward one of his squad mates had once said he was for it. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to, though. In fact, when he was young, all he'd ever wanted to be was a member of the Survey Corps. However, even if the Survey Corps was all he ever dreamed of when he was little, at eighteen he just didn't think he could handle the pressure of having to be perfect for a Commander that was so fond of holding others under his thumb; he was too wild for it.

Little did he know that the Commander liked to snoop around in the matters of the Garrison and the MP as well, holding close ties with Commander Pixis and Commander Dok.

Luckily, Eren had never had to meet the Commander.

Not until now.

They waited another minute before the door to their right opened, Commanders Pixis and Dok stepping through the doors and coming to stand by Commander Erwin. 

"Well?" Commander Pixis prompted.

After a tense second, Commander Erwin pursed his lips and gave a firm nod, "They'll do."

Eren could feel the question thrumming through his veins. _We'll do for what?_

But he didn't dare voice himself out of turn and risk disrespecting his superiors.

The short, dark-haired man with an undercut to his right had no such boundaries, however.

"For what, Eyebrows?" Eren blanched at the blatant disrespect but was surprised to see the sandy-haired man next to him act unsurprised at the display. Eren watched carefully for any sign that the Commanders were angry at the man's disrespect, but Commander Pixis and Commander Dok just looked at the man with exasperated irritation while Commander Erwin with smirked knowingly.

Commander Erwin ignored the dark-haired man, setting his sights on Eren. He then turned his head towards Commander Pixis and Eren felt his throat seize. Without taking his eyes from Eren's, Commander Erwin mumbled, "I'd like him transferred to the Survey Corps as quickly as possible."

Commander Pixis gave a short nod, "The papers are all in order."

Eren's heart sped up and, this time, he couldn't keep silent, "Transfer?"

Commander Pixis looked at him for the first time, "Is there a problem, Captain?"

Eren swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing. "No, sir, just... what about my team?"

"Armin is more than ready to take on a squad of his own," Commander Pixis said, as if _that_ was the concern Eren had brought up.

"Yes, sir, I know that sir, but...why?" Eren stuttered out, his eyes fluttering around the faces of the Commanders in confusion.

"We believe that you and your skillset are far better equipped for a squad of a different kind, Eren," Commander Erwin spoke.

"What kind of squad, sir?" Eren asked hesitantly, an uncomfortable feeling building in his gut. He didn't like being made a part of plans without his knowledge.

"Tell me, Eren," Erwin said in a conversational tone, "How many other shifters do you have on your squad?"

Eren swallowed. "One, sir," _Mikasa._

Erwin nodded, moving onto the blonde to his left, "How about you, Jean, how many?"

"None, Commander," The blonde, Jean, answered curtly.

"Levi?" Commander Erwin prompted the dark-haired man.

"Two, Eyebrows, you know that, stop beating around the bush, we don't have all fucking day," The man snapped. Eren's eyebrows rose. He'd have surely been booted if he had spoken to Commander Pixis like that. But, damn, three shifters on one squad? Wow, they were probably a powerhouse. _Which was probably why he got away with speaking to his commanding officer like that._

"So, as you can see," Commander Erwin continued on, "the Corps has a very distinct lack of talented shifters within its ranks. Beyond yourselves, the shifters we've recruited within the Survey Corps, Garrison, and Military Police are above average at absolute best and far below average at absolute worst."

Eren saw Levi cross his arms over his chest, a snarl on his lips. Eren figured he was feeling insulted at the insinuation his squad was incapable, and Eren had to say he felt the same, defensiveness rising for his adoptive sister.

"We've been keeping a careful eye on all of you and deduced that your progress has been stilted by non-shifter squads," Commander Pixis said, "We've decided it would be mutually beneficial for all of us to create a new squad, one just for specialized shifters like yourselves so you don't find yourselves being dragged down by-" Commander Pixis cleared his throat, "- _lesser_ individuals."

Levi scoffed. "Please, my squads the best damn squad there is. You've got your shit mixed up, a squad of three with two recruits that're still wet behind the ears? I won't be leaving my squad for this stupid, dysfunctional shit."

"That is exactly why you'll be the captain, Levi, although it'll be more in name than anything as Eren and Jean are very capable individuals, being captain and vice-captain themselves, respectively. You'll all be on equal ground when it comes to missions and, of course, amongst yourselves, but Levi being captain will show the absolute capability of the new squad to our superiors," Commander Erwin explained. He looked like he was getting a kick out of Levi's anger.

"Sir?" Jean stepped into the conversation, his eyebrows pinched together, "How would this even work? Squads are required to live near each other but the Survey Corps barracks are filled, Captain Jaeger lives with the Garrison, I'm assuming, and Captain Levi lives on the Captain's floors with his team."

Eren's lips turned down. That was this guy's problem with this situation? Their living arrangements?

"I've taken it upon myself to acquire all of you new housing," Dok said in his gruff, no-nonsense tone. 

"Eyebrows?" Levi hissed, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you'll all be living together," Commander Erwin replied blithely. Then, he very nearly grinned, "Isn't that great?"

There were different reactions.

Jean didn't seem to care all that much, just shrugging, Eren was frozen, and Levi, well, he seemed to scrunch up in a ball of _pissed off,_ his hands clenching tightly where they were placed on his biceps, his face scrunched into a snarl.

"No." The word was out of Eren's mouth before he'd realized it.

Five heads swiveled towards him and it was then that he'd realized what had just happened. "No what?" Commander Pixis asked, narrowing his eyes at Eren.

Eren took a shaky breath, steeling his nerves. He'd always been weak when it came to people in power. He met Pixis's eyes, "You can't bring this up out of the blue and expect us to go along with it, we have each made our success in our own squads, and you just want us to abandon it for an _idea_?"

Commander Pixis frowned, "Are you disobeying orders, right now, Captain Jaeger? I expected more from you."

Eren clenched his fists.

"The kid's right," Levi drawled, "We've got shit to do. _Separately._ "

"And if we ordered you to?" Commander Erwin asked, his eyebrows raised in a challenge.

Levi ticked his own brow up, putting his hands on his hips, "You'll have to find a new Captain."

"Same here," Jean pitched in. Eren nodded his agreement.

Commander Erwin sighed and shook his head. Commander Pixis's lips twisted with a frown. "Then I'll have no choice but to punish your whole squad for your insubordination," he said.

Eren's eyes widened and his teeth mashed together, a growl building up in his throat. Was he actually blackmailing him? Was it really _that_ important?

"I'll have to do the same to both of your teams as well," Commander Erwin agreed, nodding solemnly.

Levi's face turned feral, like a cat stalking its prey, "You wouldn't dare."

Commander Erwin met his glare head-on. "No? Then, please, feel free to walk out." He made a grand gesture towards the door.

Levi didn't seem amused with his theatrics. "This isn't what we fucking agreed on," Levi gritted out, his jaw clenched tightly.

"I don't recall having an agreement, Captain Ackerman," Erwin replied, a chill sweeping over his face almost as if he were warning Levi.

Levi held his gaze for a solid few seconds, searching.

Meanwhile, Eren couldn't tell if Jean was pissed off by his team being threatened or being ordered to do something he didn't particularly want to do, but, either way, his face was red.

Levi was the first to stop the stare-off, his head swinging down and his fist clenching, "Fine, I'll do this-- _stupid_ fucking thing. But don't give me shit when it blows up in your face."

Commander Erwin looked pleased and stared expectantly at Eren and Jean.

Eren stared at his feet hopelessly. "Okay."

Jean still looked pissed, tendons and muscle in his neck bulging. "I'll do it."

"Good," Commander Erwin said pleasantly, "then it's official, from today on, you'll be working and living together, so work on getting along, yes?"

"You forgot to tell them the best part," Commander Dok piped up, nonplussed.

"Ah, yes, the first ever squad with a special name," Commander Erwin said.

"A special name?" Levi asked incredulously, looking almost insulted.

"Liked a prized pony," Jean muttered under his breath.

"Well, Eyebrows? We're obviously on the edge of our fucking seats, out with it so you and your merry band of _boy scouts_ can fuck off," Levi said, looking expectantly at Commander Erwin.

In that moment, Erwin looked like the cat that got the canary. "I'm glad you asked so kindly, Captain."

"We'll call it Humanity's Hope."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a comb-through for mistakes, but I'm certain I missed a few, sorry.

Their decision had been made for them, and none of them were happy about it.

This, of course, didn't stop Eren and Jean from leaving the office and immediately pressing their chests together, nose-to-nose.

Canine-shifters had one thing in common; they loved dominance. Something within them screamed at them to just be the best, _be on top._

Eren stood half a foot taller than Jean, having to bend his neck down to look down at the blonde, a growl rumbling in his throat. Slowly, he pressed Jean against the wall, and that would've been enough to dominate any lesser wolf, but not Jean. Jean just pressed his chest harder, glaring into Eren's blindingly green eyes with his own snarl pulling at his lips.

"Move it, mutts, you're blocking the goddamn hallway," Levi hissed behind them, disgusted by the canine-typical show of dominance.

Eren and Jean paid him no mind, their growls growing and echoing around them, until, finally, the tension broke and Jean reluctantly twisted, the muscles in his neck straining as he bared it to Eren

Eren immediately stopped growling, pushing his nose into Jean's neck in acceptance of his submission.

"Aw," Levi cooed sarcastically, unamused. "How sweet, now can you get the fuck out of my way?" Without an answer, he pushed past them, the two canine-shifters looking at him with frowns

The men pulled away from each other and Jean called after Levi, "Where are you going?"

Levi sneered, turning his head to glare at Jean, "Up your ass and to the left, _dog_."

~

Petra's cheerful face greeted him when he arrived at the Survey Corps barracks. "Levi! You were gone a while, what did Erwin want with you?"

"Tell everyone to gather in my suite. _Everyone_. I don't care if they're taking a shit or wiping their asses." He grumbled through clenched teeth, not meeting her eyes.

He stepped around her, loosening the cravat from around his neck as she watched him go with a frown, her face tight with worry.

~

_That fucking bastard._

The second he was out of view from Petra, his careful loosening became angered jerking, roughly pulling the cravat from his neck and clenching it tightly in his fist as he made purposeful steps towards his room, bystanders clearing the way as if there were literal flames coming out of his ears.

This was bullshit. Absolute and utter fucking bullshit. _Ten fucking years_ he worked for that man, rolling over like the good dog he wanted him to be, making him look good. And, shit, he didn't ask for much.

He wanted to be left alone.

He wanted to be able to do his job without motherfuckers sticking their noses up his ass.

He wanted to stay on the squad he'd worked his ass off making.

That was it. And Erwin- _fucking_ -Smith had just wiped all of those things off the table with one swoop of his goddamn hulk arm.

To say Levi was pissed about it would be a drastic understatement.

The handle of his door slammed into the wall as he threw the door open, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. He smirked, a good-bye gift for Eyebrows and a welcome gift for the new captain of _his_ squad. He could only hope the bastard would _at least_ choose one of his squad members and not bring in a new dope who couldn't tell his nose from his asshole.

After a couple minutes of letting his anger fester, there was a knock on his still-open door. He flicked his eyes to look at the four people that awaited him in the doorway. He waved them in, "Get in here and shut the door."

They all shared a concerned glance, filing in one after another, Eld shutting the door behind him and stepping up. "What's this about, Captain?"

He took a moment, looking at the varying levels of wariness and concern that flitted over their faces. He crossed his arms, sighing, "Eyebrows is transferring me to a new squad."

"What?!" Gunther exclaimed, his upper body tilting forward and his eyes widening in disbelief.

"He can't do that," Auruo hissed with a slight slur, signifying that he had, once again, bitten his tongue.

Petra stepped forward with furrowed eyebrows, "Why would he do that?"

"Eyebrows has some twisted idea that shifters being in squads with non-shifters are being... _'disadvantaged'_ or some shit," Levi said gruffly, swiping a stressed hand through his hair.

"Why don't you just say no, sir?" Eld asked. "He can't force your hand like this."

"He's decided that if I choose to go against his orders, he will take it upon himself to push the punishment onto my squad," Levi said with a heavy sigh.

They looked surprised that Erwin would pull something like that, but Levi wasn't, not really. He'd always been an under-handed bastard that did whatever he had to to get what he wanted. They weren't _friends_ , they were _using_ each other.

"We can take a little reprimanding, Levi, come on! Don't let him break us apart!" Gunther pleaded with a determined shine in his eye. The other three seemed to be in agreement.

"No," Levi said firmly, looking each of them in the eye. "A formal reprimand from a commander is enough to fuck up your chances at being captains for good. It isn't worth it."

Gunther gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.

"So, that's it? We can't do anything?" Petra asked softly.

Levi gave her a firm shake of his head. "No, there isn't, but that doesn't mean I want you little fuckers slacking off." He watched as his squad shifted, straightening their backs and meeting his eye. "One of you might be chosen to replace me or someone new might come in to replace me. Either way, you're going have an idiot join you and they're probably going to be a fucking mess, and I don't want my squad embarrassed by a mess, you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Levi nodded once. "Good. I'm moving my things today, but I expect all of you to continue as normal. When your new captain is chosen, I want you to respect them. Don't shame me by being little shits and act like you don't know how to do your jobs when I'm gone. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

He dipped his head with a smirk, turning around and waving his hand. "Good, now get out of here, you little shits."

~

Jean would be lying if he said losing a battle of dominance against a _dog_ as a _wolf_ didn't hurt his pride. Just a little bit.

That was probably the only thing that really _bothered_ him in this situation; that he would have to live with another canine that now held dominance over him. He knew that captain Levi and captain Jaeger had issues with leaving their squads -who wouldn't after working with the same one for years- but Jean had no such attachments. His year working for the Corps had been a game of hot potato, teams just tossed him around to wherever it was convenient, completely disregarding how _he_ felt about it.

That didn't mean that he wanted to leave his team, though. He never really did, foolishly hoping that this time he wouldn't be transferred again. He always was, but at least that gave him hope that he would be on this _'Humanity's Hope'_ squad for a short time and be passed off to another squad that would be more tolerable.

His squad-hopping also made it so he didn't have much packing to do, as he'd hardly unpacked to begin with in preparation for what would inevitably be another transfer.

He walked with his hands in his pockets, strolling past three of his squad members who were playing a round of cards in the Survey Corps common room as he made his way to the elevator that would take him to where he was currently staying.

"Jean!" Jean looked over his shoulder at his squad mate, Marco, who was waving at him with a smile. He held up his cards, "Come play?"

"Nah," He drawled, shaking his head, "I've got to go pack."

Marco's eyebrows furrowed, "You're transferring again?"

When Jean nodded, another one his squad mates spoke up, "Dedrik didn't say anythin' 'bout that."

"Yeah, well, it was an emergency," Jean muttered, walking again in hope of dissuading them from speaking to him more. "See you."

"Ah, Jean! Maybe we can play next we see each other?" Marco asked, his grin not as bright as it was before.

"Yeah, maybe," Jean responded flippantly, knowing full well that they wouldn't.

"... Okay..."

~

Later that night, Eren was called into Commander Pixis's office. He had his backpack slung over his right shoulder, his suitcase in his left hand. It was odd to think that three years in the Garrison had left him with so little.

He tried not to hold resentment over the superior that he'd always held on a pedestal, but it was difficult when he had forced him into an unfavorable situation, even going as far as threatening his friends and family and calling his sister inferior.

Still, he put his fist over his heart when he stood in front of Commander Pixis, his head held high.

"I see you're ready to go," Commander Pixis said.

"Yes, sir." Eren nodded affirmatively.

"I don't want to have any hard feelings between us upon your departure, Eren. Truly, I don't." Commander Pixis sighed. He moved to rest a hand on Eren's shoulder and Eren pursed his lips, staring ahead. "I wouldn't do this if it wasn't for the sake humanity. I want nothing but the best for every member of the Garrison, yourself and your squad included."

Eren gave a tight nod, "I understand, sir."

"This will turn out better than you think," Commander Pixis said.

Eren doubted it. How could being separated from his best friends and giving up his affiliation _by force_ be anything close to good for him? It wasn't. Point blank. None of it was.

"I've known Captain Levi since he's joined the Corps, and I know that he is the best suited for your squad. Him and Jean Kirchstein. This _is_ a good thing, trust me," Commander Pixis said again. he patted Eren's shoulder twice. "I'll take care of your squad, but for now, you've got a house to move into, don't you?"

Eren blinked in surprise. "A house?"

~

It was indeed a house. On any other day, Eren would've been absolutely smitten with the cute little house that reminded him on his childhood home, but today, he just wanted to go to sleep in his crappy, lump-filled bed and play cards with Armin until the wee hours of the morning.

He wouldn't be able to do that anymore. His heart weighed him down at the thought, a feeling of loneliness flooding his veins.

He hadn't even stepped inside the place yet and he was already feeling terrible, how was he supposed to live here until this horror show went up in flames?

His face crumpled with a frown and he gripped the handle of his suitcase tightly, digging out the key Commander Pixis had given him, personalized with a dog tag engraved with a bold _"E."_ He stared hard at the key as if it would transport him home.

After a second, he sighed. He wasn't an idiot, he didn't need to act like one. He didn't need to act like a child who hadn't gotten their way, either. This was his job and, as usual, he would complete it to the best of his ability.

He would try to be a good roommate.

He would try to get along with his new roommates.

He would try not to step on any toes.

He would still strive to be the best he could be.

With a determined glint in his eye, he nodded to himself and stuck the key into the slot in the door. He took a breath, preparing for what would be inside. He unlocked the door, and in a single twist, he opened it.

He let out the breath he'd been holding; he was the first to arrive. His shoulders sagged in relief and he dropped his bag from his shoulder. He flicked on the light near the door, a ceiling light illuminating the living room.

The room was fully furnished. It was the small blessings, he supposed.

Generally, Eren liked to snoop around new places. Today, he just hoped that his roommates wouldn't be upset with whichever room he chose to inhabit for the night.

He went upstairs, his heavy boots making a ruckus through the quiet house.

He was too relieved to be annoyed about the nameplates that had already been placed on three of the six doors in the hallways at the top of the stairs. His was at the very end and never had a piece of wood looked more inviting in an unfamiliar place.

He was almost annoyed to find that inside his room, every requirement for a healthy and happy dog-shifter had been met perfectly. Someone had clearly done their research, and while Eren was glad that was one thing he could check off his list, it gave him one less thing to hate about his situation, which, after more thought, was...a good thing.

Even under his boots, he could feel the added cushion to the already-soft gray carpet that would be kind on his joints and paws when he shifted. His bed was lower than standards beds which made it both easier to hop up onto as a canine and to quickly roll off his bed and shift into a canine mid-air in an emergency, which had happened more than once.

He threw his backpack on the bed and shut the door behind him, pulling his suitcase upright and letting go of it.

To the left of his bed were french doors covered with thin, black-out curtains draped to the side. Canine shifters, or, at least domestic canine shifters (Eren had never met a wolf-shifter before Jean,) tended to need access to the outside often, otherwise, their instincts would send them into a frenzy. It was difficult for Eren to relieve this side of him in the Garrison Barracks, and often left him without sleep because he needed to go outside every two hours, so he was glad that that wouldn't be a problem here; the doors being open would be enough to soothe him.

Opening the closet door, he immediately noticed foam pads that were meant to go on top of mattresses and made a mental note to add those before his first mission with his new squad. He looked at his suitcase with a scrunched nose. He'd unpack later.

He shut the closet door and went to the door to his right, finding it to be a small, en-suite bathroom. The shower was a walk-in without a tub, which, as much as he hated it, was ideal. He looked to the counter and frowned once he saw a hand-held vacuum meant for pet hair.

He tried to be insulted, conveniently forgoing the fact that he had one in his backpack that had needed replacing for the past year or so.

He stepped out of the bathroom, flicking the lights off. Everything else could wait until later, for now, he needed a nap.

~

Jean could smell the other canine-shifter the second he walked through the door. He took note that his scent was only around the doorway and to the left, where the stairs were. It didn't seem like the shifter had wandered.

Jean didn't feel like looking around either, but probably not for the same reason.

He walked through the dark living room and up the shadowed staircase. He had to squint a bit to see the nameplates on the doors as he hadn't had a lot of time to use his night vision in the recent months, but when he did he smirked.

Somebody had made an informed decision, putting Captain Levi between his and Eren's rooms. He looked at Eren's room, his scent centering behind the door, however, he assumed Eren was asleep since the crack underneath the door was as dark as the rest of the hallway.

He pushed open the door to his room carelessly, tossing the only backpack he'd brought onto his bed and kicking the door shut behind him, wincing momentarily at the loud noise.

He could smell people he didn't recognize in his room. From the looks of it, someone handsome in to make things appropriate for wolf-shifter, and while he appreciated it, an uncomfortable feeling welled up inside him as his instincts recognized that an unfamiliar intruder had messed with his things in a place that was supposed to be _his_. it was _his_ name on the door, not theirs.

With a frustrated huff, Jean started shedding his clothes. In seconds, he was on all-fours, sandy-blonde hair covering every inch of him as his tailbone extended into a long, fluffy tail.

Immediately, he flopped onto the ground, starting to rub himself all over the carpet before moving onto the bed, which was now eye-level. The smell wasn't too bad, there. It just smelled of fresh linens.

He hopped off the bed and rubbed his neck all over the handles to the balcony, taking a moment to rub his paws all over the floor in front of it.

It was annoying, having to do this almost every single time he moved somewhere new. Of course, his superiors had to have known how much foreign scents bothered wolf-shifters, Jean just guessed that they didn't particularly care. After all, they had strange people make up his rooms after asking over and over for them to let him do it himself.

After a couple minutes more of scent-marking his room and bathroom -making note to use the pet hair vacuum that he saw in the bathroom later- he simply hopped onto his bed and curled up.

_Clothes were overrated anyway._

~

Levi's room was different than the canines', it wasn't far off from a regular bedroom with the exception of some extra comforts around the room.

His bed was a normal height, covered in soft and fluffy blankets, at least ten pillows leaning against the headboard. The carpet was flat and hard beneath his feet, ensuring that his claws wouldn't get stuck if he were to walk around as a feline. Which, really, he didn't expect.

He only shifted when it was necessary; he couldn't risk being vulnerable like that unless it was completely necessary. Especially not in a house full of _fucking mutts_. His nose scrunched in disgust just thinking about what kind of mess they must've made.

He'd always been very careful to not end up with canine-shifters in his squad. Very careful. He'd even turned down that Jean kid when Eyebrows had wanted him to transfer to his squad once his second team bailed. Of course, it'd happened anyway.

Petra was a mouse-shifter and it had been both an issue and a blessing. While she could work in smaller places than even he, her instincts as a prey animal could fail her at the most inopportune times.

She didn't leave behind messes, either, so that was a plus.

Auruo was a bat-shifter. The only downsides to this were his extreme clumsiness and sensitivity to light and sound.

He also didn't leave any messes.

They were his favorite types of shifters, despite their animals them not being super useful on the field. Now, he'd been forced to replace them with his least favorite type of shifters.

_Dogs._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to continue this on to the first day of all of them living together since this was really word-heavy and didn't have a ton of dialogue, in my opinion, but I decided not to, sorry?
> 
> Thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter of Humanity's Hope acquired.

Eren procrastinated. He procrastinated for as long as he could, wrapped up in his covers while staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling and trying to push past the dread that had built up in his chest.

He didn't want to go down. He didn't want to see who would be there despite his promise to himself to try his best. What if this was his best? This cowardice.

He wasn't great at meeting new people, to be honest. His personality was made for it, according to Mikasa, but his mind wasn't in it. He wouldn't meet their expectations; they would end up disappointed and realize that he wasn't all he was cracked up to be.

_Some captain._

He laid there for longer than he could count, pursing and biting his lips until they were red and shiny, the toothmarks feeling odd as they rubbed against his teeth. Finally, he sighed, putting an arm over his eyes. He certainly wasn't making anybody _proud_ by holing himself up in his room as if he were a mere mouse rather than a dog.

He swung his legs over his bed, touching his feet to the floor and standing decidedly before he had a chance to slump back down.

His hand rested on the doorknob for a second, tightening his fist and then opening it again, his arm stiff with indecision. His lips were pursed tightly and he breathed out a long sigh through his nose.

He opened as if it would make a bomb go off. Predictably, it didn't. The hallway was still dark, windowless as it was, but Eren could see the glow of sunlight filtering up the stairs. He swallowed.

Somebody must've gone down to open the curtains, which meant somebody else was awake, waiting. 

There was nothing left to do but bite the bullet.

He padded quietly down the stairs, his eyes going to the living room and noting that it was untouched. He heard a shuffle in the kitchen and paused for a second before turning to the left towards the doorway.

It seemed Jean was the first up on this morning, a mug of something steaming near his right hand and a plate with slices of raw chicken and blueberries near his other as he scrolled through his phone. Had the fridge come stocked, or had the man gone out?

As Eren stepped further into the kitchen, Jean's eyes flickered up to meet his and neither of them moved for nearly a full minute.

"Hey," Jean muttered finally, his eyes flickering down to whatever he was doing as his hand reached out for a slice of chicken, taking a bite. Eren did his best not to cringe, but raw chicken, _really?_

Eren kept his thoughts to himself. He'd promised to try and get along. He moved to the fridge, finding that it had been stocked and pre-labeled. Some foods had "wolf," and he noticed that those were generally white meats and fruit, other foods had "cat," and those things were made up of fish and other odd-looking things that Eren was pretty sure he'd never seen in his life. The last one, "dog," which he assumed was his, was made up of the perfect diet for a shifter of his breed; Red meat, vegetables, and eggs. The most uninteresting things on the face of this earth, he very nearly stuck his tongue out at the thought of them before remember who was sitting behind him.

He resigned himself to pull out some eggs, adding a mental note to go shopping so he wasn't left with this...this sacrilege healthy stuff.

He set himself to making eggs in the fully-stocked kitchen, doing his best to ignore the one sitting behind him. The man didn't seem too upset by the prospect of not speaking, and that suited Eren just fine, for now.

When his eggs had finished he sat down and started eating. Before long, his breakfast pal sighed heavily through his nose, as if frustrated.

Eren stopped mid-chew, quirking an eyebrow, but otherwise not saying anything. He continued eating.

Not two minutes after that, Jean dropped his phone, glaring at Eren.

"What?" Eren asked defensively.

Jean scrunched his nose at him, "Do you have to chew so obnoxiously?"

Eren tightened his grip on his fork, "I'm chewing like a normal person, y'know, with my teeth?"

Jean rolled his eyes, "Sure,"

Eren pursed his lips, he wouldn't start a fight on the first day. The other had had already turned back to his own activity, so Eren didn't think the conversation was worth pursuing.

Plus, he'd just scare the pup into submission if he got _too_ riled up.

Eren went back to his food and was mature enough not to make an extra effort to chew noisily. Time passed quietly.

Soon, there was a thumping of heels on the staircase and Eren couldn't help but wonder who in their right mind would dress this early in the morning.

Levi came through the doorway, completely kitted-out in his Survey corps gear.

Jean looked him up and down strangely, "You do know that we have today off...right?"

"No, I hadn't noticed," he drawled sarcastically, "I thought we all woke up at eight because it was come-to-work-late-day,"

Jean's lip lifted briefly before he turned his head down, poking at what was left of his breakfast.

Levi poured himself a cup of coffee with one hand, opening the fridge with the other and grimacing, "What the fuck is this shit?" He pulled out a package of fish filets with a scrunched nose.

"I think Commander Erwin had people stock the fridge for our breeds," Eren said, hoping to start off on the right foot with his new squadmate and pseudo-captain.

Levi turned his sneer onto him, "I know that, dumbshit, people fucked shit up all over the house," he hissed, "The cleaning closet is a goddamned nightmare," he punctuated his words by throwing the filets into the trash. He glared at them, "If you want to live inside of the house and not in the fucking _shed,_ you clean the messes you make, capiche?"

Jean didn't even glance up but Eren gave a tight nod, downtrodden at his failed attempt to get along.

Levi went back to the fridge and peered inside, his hand rummaging around with things and disgust lighting up his features every so often.

Once he was finished, he had five more items that he had to throw in the trash. "Do either of you shits actually _want_ to eat what those fucks put in the fridge?"

"No," Eren replied readily, nodding down at his half-finished breakfast. Jean just gave a non-committal shrug.

Levi sighed, "Get dressed in your gear, we're going shopping and then we're going to the training hall."

"It's our day off, dude," Jean said, looking up, "why the hell would we go to the training hall on our day off?" Eren nodded in agreement.

"We're being assigned a mission tomorrow and we know fuck-all about each other. I sure as hell don't trust either of you as far as I can throw you and one day isn't going to do shit to fix that, but it's all we have and we're not going to waste it." Levi replied curtly, taking a swig of his coffee and leaning his hip against the counter.

Eren thought that that made sense, he'd seen new squads fail plenty of times due to lack of trust or coordination. It would be good to get that out of the way as quickly as possible, especially with the lingering tension that surrounded the group.

A glance towards Jean told Eren that he wasn't happy about it, but he didn't protest against it so Eren assumed he agreed. Nobody moved.

"Well?" Levi prompted with a frown.

"Well what?" Eren asked with a furrowed brow.

Levi waved his arm, "Get your ass up and get dressed, I'm not waiting around."

~

Jean had opted out of coming along on their excursion, claiming that what was already stocked in the fridge for him was fine, and while Eren was skeptical, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Levi had a very set way of shopping, a way that Eren could only call _extremely time-efficient._ And he wasn't at all surprised, to be honest. He'd only known the man for two days and he'd already threatened cleanliness onto the household, sneered at their lack of dress so early in the morning, and had proven to be the most organized person Eren had ever had the displeasure of shopping with.

"What do you eat, brat?" The man had asked, tapping the tip of his pen against the piece of paper he was writing the grocery list on.

"Sandwiches, mostly," Eren said with little thought.

Levi looked up at him with disgust, "Is that it?"

Eren shrugged sheepishly, "I mean...they're easy?"

"Fucking disgusting," He growled, "Pick out shit you can actually cook, don't be lazy, your body will pay for it."

"Hey! Sandwiches are perfectly healthy!" Eren said, defending his...ahem, _questionable_ eating habits.

"Sure, if you're thirteen," Levi scoffed, "you're twenty and all you eat is sandwiches. Grow up,"

Eren scowled at the shorter man's head as he continued into the store, but followed nonetheless.

Eren walked, uncharacteristically obedient as he followed after the feline-shifter, watching as the man grumbled under his breath, eyes raking up and down the shelves as he walked past them at a snail's pace.

"Hey, Levi?" Eren broke the silence, looking up to the left.

Levi didn't look at him, just grunted as he took a box of brown rice off the shelf.

"How is this squad going to work?" He asked, uncertain. The squads he'd been a part of and the squads he'd assisted came with a set of rules, things to expect. This was out of his element. It was probably out of all of their elements.

Levi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, tossing the box into the basket and continuing, "It isn't,"

"What?" Eren said, caught off-guard by the pessimistic response. The man had said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The man let out a harsh sigh, "This shit's going to go up in flames faster than Eyebrows can say _'Play nice,'_ kid. It isn't 'going to work.'"

"So, what? You're going to give up before even trying?" Eren asked, bristling. He didn't abandon his squad so a midget could tell him their new squad was going to fail.

"Don't be a brat," Levi said, "you're not naive enough to think that this shit could actually work, are you?"

Eren grit his teeth, "I know the chances are low," he hissed, "But I won't stand for you or anyone else to tell me that I left behind my squad for nothing,"

"You're not the only one who left their squad, shitty brat," Levi glared at him from underneath his lashes for a moment before his shoulders seemed to slump, "I'm not having this conversation in the fucking store."

Levi started walking on, but Eren grabbed his shoulder, "No, we're not moving unless you say you're willing to give this a chance. Just a _chance_. We can't move as a cohesive unit if the one who's _supposed_ to be our captain doesn't think we'll make it!"

Levi recoiled at his touch, looking uncomfortably to the side of them where some shoppers had started loitering around, watching the scene. He tugged his shoulder away from Eren's hand, "Pipe down, brat,"

Eren clenched his hands into fists, "No, you don't want me to cause a scene?" His lips curled into a smirk, "Admit you're a coward."

Levi faced him fully, " _What?_ " he hissed, "Repeat that, mutt,"

"Coward," Eren growled, holding Levi's gaze.

Levi scoffed with a deprecating smirk, "You're just a kid, what the fuck do you know? Why they let an insolent brat be a captain is beyond me, but don't think you're hot shit because they couldn't find anybody else to fill the spot,"

Eren could feel a growl building in his throat but stopped himself. It was a sure way for this to get physical, and he didn't want that. He just wanted the man to _try_. And maybe not insult him, while he was at it.

People tended to react better to others when they weren't constantly being insulted by them. At least in Eren's experience, which might've been admittedly limited.

"You say that like you're any better, _Heichou,_ " Eren sneered, his voice lowering, "Nobody even knows where you came from before Commander Erwin found you, who knows how you got up there."

Levi cut him a sharp look, "Just what the fuck do you think you're insinuating, brat?"

"It's not rare for captains or commanders to get their positions from bribery, Ackerman, what else is someone supposed to think?" Eren said, a challenge glinting in his eye.

Levi got into Eren's face, hissing lowly, "Don't stick your fucking nose where it doesn't belong, kid, it doesn't make people fucking happy."

"Excuse me, is everything alright over here?" In a second, Levi was back to looking at dry pasta and Eren faced the employee with a sheepish smile

"Sorry ma'am, we're roommates, it was just a small spat," He said.

She looked uncertain but nodded, "If you're sure, then,"

The lady walked away and Levi jerked his chin to the side, "If you're done, we need something healthy shit."

This time, he kept his mouth _shut_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to continue, I didn't. Sorry.
> 
> Thoughts?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this for a few days now, but haven't been able to properly proofread so sorry.
> 
> Side note, though, I hear you guys like my characterizations so far, so tell me if I'm off the mark because I'm having a tough time lol.

Jean's eyes were shifting periodically between Levi and Eren as they walked side-by-side to the Survey Corps' training grounds that had been specifically reserved for shifters. 

Ever since they'd come home from the store earlier in the day, there'd been a tenseness between the two that hadn't resided there before. Eren had even gone as far as keeping his head turned to the right and while Levi didn't even bother sparing him a glance, ignoring every move and huff the brunette made, Jean could see that the man was wound up tighter than he usually was.

Jean would ask if he cared, but he didn't. If it didn't affect his work, he didn't care and it wasn't his problem. It wasn't like he was _interested_ in their problems.

The training hall was empty when they entered, but that wasn't abnormal. Jean had seen very few shifters actually using the training grounds offered as most preferred to train in their own strengths, which tended to vary greatly shifter to shifter, and that made it difficult for anyone training field to accommodate. Jean was the same; he couldn't remember the last time he'd been inside.

Jean could see Eren scanning around every corner of the room with wide eyes like the dog he was. He didn't know if the Garrison had something similar -The Garrison had fewer shifters than any other faction- but it didn't seem Eren had ever been inside one like this. Jean could understand if that were the case. It was a sight to behold.

It was completely different than any regular human training ground; it had scratch-proof hardwood floors covered in mats that could survive stabbings, walls with hooks and rings for shifters to climb and fly on that led up to ceilings with multiple attachments and bars and add-ons hanging from it.

It was a shifter's wet dream.

"Today we'll work on coordination," Levi said, turning to face the two of them. This time, the good little military dog he was, Eren paid close attention to Levi's words. "I assume you're familiar with squad roles?" Eren nodded.

"That won't exactly work with just three people...now will it?" Jean drawled, gesturing between the three of them.

Levi nodded once, "That's right. That's why we'll all be attending to the roles we're best at while taking aspects from the ones we can't assign to any one person and adding them, creating new roles altogether."

"How will that work?" Eren asked uncertainly.

"Exactly as I said. Clean the shit out of your ears and listen, brats." Levi said, making Eren glare. "I've always been the coordinator."

Jean raised two fingers, "I play attack dog."

"I shift between spy and decoy," Eren grumbled.

"Fantastic," Levi drawled, "Then the brat will take care of those two, so that leaves one. Thank fuck it's the easiest, who wants to take the muscles?"

Eren immediately cringed away. _Oh, no! Manual labor._ Jean scoffed, pointing to himself, "I'll take it,"

Levi's eyes slid over to him briefly, nodding, "Now that that's finished, we'll start applying those roles to ourselves and work on our teamwork. I assume you've both done missions simulations with your squads before, right?" They both nodded. "Than this won't be so hard, go get your earpieces in,"

~

 _"Are both of you in place?"_ Levi's voice crackled in Jean's ear. 

_"Yes."_ Eren's voice responded.

"Yes." Jean said.

 _"We'll go over this one more time, so don't forget, you fucks,"_ Levi said, _"Our objective is to find the orange ball hidden somewhere within the maze. Eren's going to shift and try to sniff out the ball. It's been scented with rosemary. Once he finds the general vicinity you're both going to try to find it, Jean will be the ultimate captor. Easy enough?"_

They both said their affirmatives, and Eren's was so loud Jean could almost hear him over the tall barriers they'd erected all over the training grounds.

_"Starting the timer in three...two...one."_

~

Eren stripped out of his clothes in a second, having done this too many times to get tangled up in the leather straps that adorned his uniform. Soon, he was on all-fours, his nose pressed to the floor as he listened carefully for any instruction that could be given to him by their coordinator.

This wasn't exactly the most accurate way to simulate a mission, it definitely wasn't Eren's preferred way, but it was really the only option they had given the limited time and resources they were given. He doubted they would get much done today, so he had to give it his all and leave no time wasted.

He turned a corner on the maze, trying to catch onto the scent of rosemary. He put his front paws up onto the wall, sniffing as far up as he could. Absent of scent. He turned left instead.

 _"Give me a marker, Jaeger,"_ Jean's voice crackled over the speaker still wrapped around his perked ear. Without much thought, he let out a growling bark to direct Jean to where he was and made a quick swipe of his claw on the wall. The faster they could get to each other, the faster this would get done. He put his nose back to the ground.

The rosemary was very subtle, almost unnoticeable under the heavy metallic scent of blood that lingered around the old training ground. He'd turned a few more corners when Jean asked for another directional marker.

It seemed like forever when Levi's voice crackled on the speaker, _"Lights off in five."_

Eren growled low in his throat to show that he heard.

 _"Stay where you are Jaeger, don't go blind,"_ Jean warned.

~

Jean was sprinting through the maze, trying to beat the lights while haphazardly looking and listening for the directional markers he was asking for every ten seconds. They'd be wasting some serious time if Jean couldn't find Eren before the lights went out.

"Coordinator, time?" Jean barked into his earpiece, running past another claw mark.

 _"Three minutes, forty-three seconds."_ Levi's said promptly.

Jean breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth as he continued running, "Give me a marker, Jaeger,"

His bark sounded a lot closer, this time.

"Is it safe for me to shift?" Jean asked Levi.

 _"It's clear. Shift,"_ Levi replied swiftly.

Jean stopped for only a second to undressed and tie his clothes around his neck before shifting into an oversized wolf and continuing his run.

He turned a few corners and then stopped, howling and awaiting Eren's responding bark. If he had been in human form, he would've sighed in relief; it sounded close, much closer than it had been.

Sure enough, two turns later and Jean was face-to-face with the waiting german shepherd. They both barked in unison to inform Levi of their meeting.

 _"Thirty-eight seconds,"_ Levi said.

Jean and Eren met eyes and Jean jerked his head forward, motioning for Eren to lead the way; he'd be his eyes when the time came. He almost felt it was a bit ridiculous, there was really no reason for Eren to actually need his eyes in this case - There wasn't really anything to watch out for,- but it would be an important aspect of their teamwork during missions.

He followed behind Eren closely until the lights went off. Eren lifted his head up and turned back, his eyes searching around where he knew Jean would be. Jean moved in front of him, brushing his shoulder as he looked in both directions before barking lowly, indicating to Eren that it was safe to continue in either direction.

This tiring process went on for the duration of their mission, all the way up until Eren stopped sniffing in the middle of a path, putting his paws up onto the wall to sniff the air. He hopped down and sat resolutely, barking three times.

Jean looked up, seeing a large metal box hanging above them. 

_"Are you in position, Jean?"_ Levi crackled over the speaker. Jean barked. _"Capture."_

With that, Jean got a running start, his claws lengthening to holding onto the indents in the wall. Every indent was a short leap from each other, and Jean's front legs weren't meant for this sort of activity. There was a platform five feet away, and Jean raced to get to it in hopes of giving his muscles a rest.

It took him three minutes of painful and strenuous climbing before he made the jump, sinking his claws into the thin sheet metal and then dragging and clawing his body up onto it. He barked into the receiver.

 _"Eren. Status?"_ Levi said in response to Jean's. Jean heard a responsive bark from both his earpiece and the ground below him. _"Proceed, Jean."_

Jean continued into the doorway and was relieved to find that the orange ball was sitting amongst others. He quickly grabbed it in his mouth and moved back out into the platform, dropping it briefly to bark loudly and clearly four times before recapturing it between his jaws. The mission had been successful.

~

Eren and Jean shifted back, neither bothering to dress again as they walked through the now-flat training ground to meet Levi from where he was coming down the steps that lead to the blind coordinators' room.

Levi rested his hand on his hip as he faced the two and Jean could practically feel Eren vibrating in place, waiting for praise. He refrained from reaching out and knocking the man over the head, he didn't think it would go over well.

"It was good for a first try," He said, "But Jean, you should've started asking for markers sooner and a lot more often, that downtime could cost us a shit ton. Do either of you have any comments?"

Jean bristled slightly at the correction, but made no move to combat it; he knew it could've been better no matter how his pride said that no improvement could've been made. 

"Starting off separated without knowing the other's location was a bother," Jean said, "'S not like we'd actually take that risk during a mission,"

"It'd just be a rescue mission, then," Eren added thoughtfully.

Levi regarded them with distaste, "Some missions will be like that, so don't get cocky. That being said, being separated without any knowledge of another squad member's whereabouts is generally when a mission goes to shit, which is why every squad has a coordinator."

"Speaking of..." Eren mumbled with a frown, "These earpieces aren't indestructible, but I've never been told of the protocol of what to do when you lose contact with your coordinator beyond escape or continue,"

"I haven't either," Jean shrugged. He could've thought of a few times that that sort of protocol being in place could've helped him and his.

Levi's lack of response said that he probably hadn't heard of such a thing, either. It was a large oversight on the Corps's part. "How about this: before every mission, we'll create a backup plan based off of the situation on hand in the event something gets fucked up and we lose sight and or communication,"

Both Eren and Jean nodded and Levi continued, "this isn't the only mission simulation we're doing today-" he paused when Eren groaned under his breath and smirked, "-I told you shit already; we only have today and we aren't going to waste it."

~

The sun had dipped far below the horizon by the time the triad of shifters let up. All three were dripping in sweat, each of their chests falling and raising at different levels of exertion. Jean had it the worst, of course, as he was doing the most difficult maneuvers to capture or finish off whatever target they had.

They met in the middle once more, Jean and Eren still bare, and Levi lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face, some of the strands of his hair sticking to the sides of his face. "Turns out you shits aren't completely useless,"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jean saw Eren very nearly beaming at the praise. It seemed whatever issue he'd had with Levi at the start of the day had withered away during their simulations. Jean turned his attention back to Levi, "Is that pissed-off shorty talk for _'well done?'_ "

Levi cut him a glare but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the loud opening of the training hall's doors. Jean saw Levi's face tighten when Erwin was the one who came through the doors. It didn't look like the blonde commander had been forgiven, yet.

"I'm glad the three of you are still here," he said. He held a manila folder out as he approached their tired forms. "It'd have been a mighty hassle to have to track each of you down tomorrow to give you this otherwise,"

Levi took the folder from his grasp with a furrowed brow. A second after he opened the folder, his expression cleared and Jean relaxed imperceptibly. However, after yet another second, Levi's features turned almost...constipated. He snapped the folder shut, "Is this our mission?"

Erwin gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "It is, is there a problem with it?"

"This," Levi waved the folder in front of Erwin's face, "Is not the type of mission you give to a new squad, Eyebrows."

"Well, you're all very experienced and good at what you do, so I didn't think I would be a problem," Erwin said. His words were pleasant, but it was clear to all of them it was a challenge and Jean could see Levi's jaw locking with irritation in response.

Levi promptly dropped the folder at Erwin's feet. "Not even you're that fucking stupid. I don't give a damn how experienced we are. We're all out of our fucking element, Eyebrows, we're not ready for a _regular_ mission, much less a high-risk one like this. Send someone else,"

Erwin's smile hadn't dropped a bit. He gracefully crouched, picking up the folder and offering back to Levi, "There is no one else, I'm afraid,"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Levi asked through gritted teeth, crossing his arms.

"It means," Erwin drew out, "that there is no other team suited for this job. Ordinarily, I'd send one of yours," He gestured between the three, "however, that's no longer an option."

"Then why don't you just dissolve the squad?" Jean asked with a slight frown.

Erwin looked at Jean for the first time, "Because there is more than you know riding on this squad working out. I'll admit, it would've been more convenient for this case to land on my desk before we'd made the decision to remove you from your previous squads, but things don't always work for our convenience,"

"No," Levi said firmly, glaring at the blonde.

"No?" Erwin said, amused and cocky.

"No, I don't give a shit what's convenient, Fuckhead. We go; we get slaughtered. No." Levi said in a hiss.

"Well," Erwin sighed, "I guess if there's nothing I can do to sway your decision, I'll just have to let your actions reflect on your old squads. It really is a shame, Eld has been doing wonders as captain," He ignored Levi's reaction of _'You fucking-'_ and turned to Eren.

Eren tensed, swallowing. "And what was that little blonde's name? Armin? Why, he's on his way to a handsome raise. Good thing, too, I heard his grandfather could use the money." Erwin tapped the folder against his hand as if in thought, "You know, now that I think about it, Pixis is writing your sister checks to pay the mortgage on that cute little house she moved into a couple weeks ago, isn't he? It'd be a shame if she couldn't hold onto it, it was her whole reasoning for staying in the Garrison, wasn't it?"

Jean smirked cockily as Erwin overlooked the newly-tense Eren and set his sights on him, "What're you gonna use to threaten me, Commander?"

Erwin gave him an enigmatic smile, "I admit you run a tight ship, Kirchstein, but I wouldn't get cocky; no man is invincible."

His words didn't phase Jean in the least. He didn't have anything important or valuable in his life; nothing that the man could threaten him with. His jaw tightened. _No pack._

He saw Eren watching him uncertainly. He shrugged flippantly, "Try it," he jabbed his thumb to Levi, "I'm followin' his lead until I'm compelled to do otherwise," Eren looked relieved.

Levi's lips pursed and he stiffly turned his neck to look at Eren, "You willing to do this, brat?"

Eren, eyes determined as ever, nodded.

Levi roughly snatched the folder away from Erwin, "We'll take the fucking job, Eyebrows,"

Erwin's lips curled, pleased. "I'm glad we could come to an agreement."

~

_( **Squad assigned-** "Humanity's Hope" Cptn. Levi Ackerman, Eren Jaeger, Jean Kirchstein)_

_**Type:** Collection&Recovery _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know where this story is going honestly, and I don't know if I'm going to have it follow a linear path with a clear end or just have a lot of arcs and stuff, so give me your thoughts because, personally, I like reading things that just kind of go on forever.
> 
> Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ***NOTICE THE UPDATED TAGS***  
>  Tags that have been added:  
> -Anxiety  
> -Human Trafficking  
> -Armin and Eren are bros  
> -BFFs  
> -I don't know if the human trafficking will be explicit-likely not

Eren was fidgetting as they walked away from the Survey Corps. Sure, he wasn't happy about Commander Erwin's choice for their first mission, but he wasn't _Levi_ unhappy. Then again, he wasn't sure why the mission was so high-risk. He wanted to trust Levi, in this instance, at least, despite whatever differences they had.

He had to put some trust in the man and this would be a good place to start. Still, he was uncomfortable with the tenseness and he knew he couldn't rely on Jean to break it up; the man was, for all intents and purposes, apathetic.

Finally, he broke. He stopped in place, "I'll come home later, I...I made plans with a friend."

Jean looked at him with a raised brow, skeptical, but Eren's sights were on Levi. Levi pursed his lips, "Are you asking or telling, brat? We're not your fucking keepers, just be up before dawn so we can work this shitshow out and I don't give a fuck what you do in your free time." With that, the man turned without another word and continued, Jean slowly followed after him, hands shoved in his pockets.

Eren clenched his fists, anger swelling in his chest at Levi's careless response. He ground his teeth but stopped himself from going after the visibly irate man. They had a mission tomorrow and they didn't need any additional problems and so their issues would have to wait until after it was over.

He resolutely turned on his heal and headed in the direction of the Garrison.

That feline-shifter didn't deserve any more of his peace of mind.

~

Eren felt a warm feeling bubble up in his chest once he got close enough to Armin's dorm room to be able to scent the man's unique smell drifting into the otherwise stale hallway.

Despite the sense of ease that washed over him at the smell of his best friend of many years, Eren felt nervousness buzzing inside him and he found himself shifting from one foot to the other as he lifted his hand to knock.

Sure, Armin had said that there were no hard feelings when it came to his transfer -He had no say, after all, what as he to blame for?- but what if he was lying? What if Eren wasn't welcome here any longer? He didn't think he could handle being shunned by him.

_Everything is fine. Armin is your best friend before anything else; before the corps, before your squads, before anything. He isn't angry, you aren't a disappointment._

Bracing himself for any kind of backlash, Eren knocked. Every single one of his muscles was frozen stiff as he waited for the door to open. Gods, what if he wasn't even in? His lips pursed tightly at the thought.

At least then he didn't have to see his friend's disappointment in person, he reasoned as he started considering turning back.

It seemed fate had other plans, however, as the door swung open to reveal Armin who seemed to have just gotten out of the shower with only a pair of loose-fitting pants and a towel flung over his shoulder.

The confused frown that Armin had opened the door with turned into a pleased grin once he saw who was outside of the door. He moved quickly, throwing his arms around Eren's neck and pulling him down for a tight hug, "Eren! I didn't expect to see you back so soon!"

All of Eren's muscles released their tension at once as Eren slumped into the arms of his best friend and allowed himself to be wrapped in his warmth and calming scent. He felt like a child, curling into the shorter man.

Armin moved one arm to rub his back with a hum while the other when to card through his hair. If Eren had had a tail at that moment, it would've been wagging. "Is your new squad giving you a tough time?"

Eren just hugged him tighter, groaning lightly where his nose was pressed to Armin's neck.

Armind hummed, "Come in and tell me all about it, 'kay?"

Eren pulled himself away from his friend and smiled at him thankfully before allowing him to be pulled into the decently-sized dorm room. Armin shut the door behind him and dropped the towel from his neck into the corner of the otherwise-spotless room.

Eren sat on his friend's bed and grabbed his pillow, hugging it tightly. Armin chuckled quietly, sitting next to him and continuing to run his hand through his thick brown hair.

Eren looked at his friend and Armin smiled patiently, ever the saint. "It's terrible," he moaned, "It's only been one day and I already feel like jumping off a cliff,"

"It can't be that bad," Armin reasoned, "Like you said, it's only been a day. You guys need to get used to each other, it's only natural that you guys don't get along so well,"

"But we're not even _starting_ to get along well. I'd say that we got off on the wrong foot, but I'm not sure getting off on the right foot was an option to begin with!" Eren said with exasperation. "I mean, Levi's an insufferable prick and Jean just...doesn even care. What am I supposed to do in a squad like that?"

Armin rubbed his thumb in soothing circles over his temple as he huffed, "Maybe you're judging too harshly? They're in the same boat you are, after all,"

Eren thought back to the frustration that he had seen Levi treat Commander Erwin with and frowned, "I guess, but 's not like fighting each other is going to make this any easier,"

"I think they're probably still holding out and hoping that the squad will be dissolved, right?" His forehead scrunched in thought, "Captain Levi, at least, Kirchstein hasn't been here for long, has he?"

"You looked them up?"Eren asked, unsurprised. His friend liked knowing all of the going-ons with those he was close to.

"Of course," Armin said as if it was obvious. _Sorry we're not all stalkers._ "I was going to refute Commander Pixis's decision if I found them to be inadequate."

"Does that mean you think we make a good squad?" Eren asked, a glimmer of hope shinging his eye.

Arming shrugged noncommittally, "I think your skills complement each other well, but more than your skills have to do well together to make a cohesive squad, so I don't have an accurate answer for that,"

Eren nodded slightly, that made sense, "I don't think our personalities mesh well, I think we're too different,"

Armin gave him a secret little smile, "Opposites do attract, you know,"

~

It was soon after that that their conversation died and Armin suggested they watch a movie to which Eren readily agreed; he wasn't ready to part with him yet and he showed it when Armin lied next to him, wrapping his limbs around the blonde like a koala and hugging him close to himself. 

The blonde was used to this, having been the target of Eren's boundless affections many times in the past and was happy to play teddy bear for his friend whenever he needed without any romantic inclination involved.

Sometimes two bros just needed a good cuddle, y'know?

Eren had his nose buried in Armin's still-damp hair and he was barely paying attention to whatever movie Armin had out on. "I wish I could just stay here."

"For how long?" Armin asked idly, humoring him.

"Forever," Eren said, "no one would have to know, I could be your dirty little secret,"

Armin laughed, "A dirty, mountain-sized secret you mean? You could try to fit in the closet, but I'm not sure how long you could live there,"

Eren frowned in thought, "I could spend the rest of my days shifted, acting like your new pet dog."

"Pets aren't allowed in the barracks, Eren," Armin reminded him gently.

"I'd be able to stay, I'm the best and people love me," Eren said surely.

"Of course, of course," Armin said, amused. "And what should I tell people your name is?"

Eren thought for a moment, "I've always liked the name Jason,"

Armin flipped around in his arms to look at him with a grin, "Jason? Really? You couldn't thnk of anything better?"

"What's wrong with Jason?" Eren asked indignantly. He thought it was a great name.

"Isn't that the name of that ax murder from one of those stupid horror movies you and Mikasa used to watch when we were younger?" Armin asked wth a raised brow.

Eren frowned and slumped, resting his chin on the blonde's shoulder, "So what?" he muttered, "I think it's cool,"

"Okay, Jason," Armin mocked, "But speaking of Mikasa, though-" he was cut off by Eren's groan, "You can't avoid her forever," h

"Do we have to talk about this now?" Eren asked, pouting.

"When else will we have a chance to talk about it? Didn't you say earlier that you guys have been given an asignment already? Who knows how long it'll be before you guys come back. Plus," He said, quieter, "you know you shouldn't leave on a mission with unfinished business,"

Eren groaned once more, lifting his head, "Stop being reasonable, I hate it."

Armin smiled, ruffling his hair, "She should still be up right now if you want to go see her before you have to go back home,"

"Can't you just call her here?" He whined.

"I think this is a conversation best had between just the two of you,"

~

Jean was lounging on the couch, his arm thrown over the top as he watched Levi who was pacing slowly, reading through the mission file.

"Are you gonna tell me what our mission is or are you planning on keeping it a secret until tomorrow?" Jean drawled, fed up with not being told what so scary about the damn folder.

Levi's eyes flicked to him, he tossed the folder into his lap, "Read that and tell me we aren't under-prepared, mutt," He slumped onto the other couch, watching with his arms crossed.

Jean shrugged and opened the folder. His eyes scanned the top, first noticing that it was classified as a collection and recovery type mission. That wasn't too bad.

He read on further and slowly his eyes widened more and more, "We're fucked."

Levi's heavy gaze set on him in silent agreement. Jean tossed the folder onto the table, "They're risking more than just our lives, sending us in there. What is Erwin thinking?"

Levi shrugged, "Beats the fuck out of me. I'm not even sure if the brat's done this type of collection and recovery before, much less with a squad that's still wet behind the fucking ears."

"I doubt it," Jean muttered, leaning back, "'S far as I know, the Garrison handles dangerous stuff that involves explosions and drugs and the likes, they don't usually deal in human trafficking."

"Eyebrows told me his squad acted as an emergency bomb squad, most of the time," Levi rolled his eyes, "Ridiculous,"

Jean huffed in agreement, "Doesn't the peoples' police have a bomb squad?

"They do, in fact, the fuckers are just lazy and like wasting our resources," Levi said.

Jean ruffled the hair at his nape, letting his head tip off the back of the couch. "You took down the Ackerman ring, right?" When Levi grunted, he continued, "have you ever heard of the Marshal's ring before?"

"In passing," Levi replied.

"How many captives do you think'll be there?" Jean asked estimating n his head.

"The Ackerman had, I don't fucking know, a couple thousand spread out across a couple countries. It was big, bigger than most trafficking rings in Trost could ever hope to be, so I'd estimate the small fucker's, Marshal's, to be at less than a hundred, but even that's generous." Levi responded gruffly, a crinkle forming in between his brows.

"What makes you think Marshal's doesn't have what it takes to become as big as the Ackerman ring?" Jean asked, genuinely curious.

"The Marshal ring only as one known location and there isn't anything we've seen that indicates otherwise besides the odd disappearance every once in a while that isn't nearly consistent enough to point at a larger operation," Levi explained.

"How do we know that there aren't more locations outside of Trost?" Jean asked. It wasn't as if Trot was the only place with trafficking.

"The Corps keeps a steady contact with our allies and if there was a Trostian trafficking ring being held up in any of their counties, we'd know," He said, crossing one leg over the other.

"What about the ones that aren't our allies?" Jean asked.

Levi shrugged, "The fuck do we care?"

Jean raised a brow but accepted the answer, slumping back into the couch. The only sound was the clock ticking on the wall, for a while.

After a moment, Levi stood, "Come to get me when the brat comes back from his sulk-fest,"

Jean watched him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you live in the US then you probably know that California is in a state of emergency, especially northern California where both the Carr fire and the Ranch fire are burning at the first and second biggest in California history. I happen to live at the mid-point of these disasters so, I might be uploading a bit more in case of evacuation(Which isn't imminent) 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed.
> 
> Thoughts?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's been a while, sorry! School started up again recently and I only really edited this so I could avoid doing math lol. I've actually had this written for a while, so I'm really sorry but I hope you enjoy!

It was almost two in the morning when Jean called to Levi from downstairs, telling him that Eren had finally stopped pissing around, doing whatever brats did to sulk when their feelings of pride were bruised.

Levi would've felt bad if he were a lesser man. The brat was trying his damndest to make this thing work and to get them to get along but tough shit, this wasn't a situation with unicorns and rainbows where they'd find a pot of gold or some sparkly shit at the end of the happiness rainbow. Hell, they'd probably never get recognition for any of the things they did while Eyebrows continued to keep the newest squad in the Corps a secret.

Levi took off his glasses closed the pages he was looking at, grabbing the folder before heading downstairs where both of the canine-shifters were sitting in silence. He squinted at Eren who looked especially uncomfortably, "Do you need to take a shit, brat? Do it now, we're not moving until we have a plan for every letter of the alphabet for the mission tomorrow."

Eren's cheeks turned red and his blazing green eyes swiveled to glared at Levi who still had yet to take a seat. "No," he snapped, "Are we going to start, or not?"

Levi looked at him as if to say _'Really? You wanna play, mutt?'_ but stayed silent, choosing to sit next to the blonde instead of the irritated brunette. He slapped the folder onto the table as he slumped into the couch. He tipped his head at Eren, motioning for him to look at it.

Eren look the folder, looking down at it curiously. Briefly, he looked at Jean, "Have you seen it already?"

"Yes," Levi drawled, "because he wasn't out doing fuck-knows-what with fuck-knows-who hours before we have to leave on a mission, so read it and weep, brat,"

Eren scowled at Levi and opened the folder with more force them necessary. Soon, his scowl turned more concerned than angry. "I've...never done something like this before," Levi saw Jean frown out the corner of his eye. It wasn't a surprise, but they'd both hoped for more.

"We figured," Levi sighed, "But there isn't shit we can do about it now except prepare you for it." He met his eyes evenly, "And you do want to be as prepared as you possibly can; that shit's no joke, brat."

Eren swallowed, nodding. He looked back down at the mission, "Where do we start?"

All three of them looked at each other, then Jean and Eren settled on staring at Levi. He pinched the space between his eyebrows. Shitty fucking brats. 

"Alright, listen up, you shits," Levi leaned forward, snatching the folder off of Eren's lap and opening it on the table. He tapped his finger on the first page, "This very clearly says _collection and recovery_ not _elimination_ , in other words, we're there to get in as quietly as possible, recover as many victims as possible, and get out as quickly and quietly as possible with as little injury as possible. Easy enough?"

Jean and Eren looked at him oddly, and it was Jean who spoke, "Obviously,"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, but I looked through both of your files and you," he pointed at Eren, "have done shit like this and you," he pointed at Jean, "Have never done a mission like this that was solely collection and recovery and, trust me, you're going to want to eliminate the second you see shit that's fucked up, but you have to drill it into your thick skulls that it's just _collection and recovery_." 

Jean worked his jaw, stiffly nodding, "I...could see that." Even Eren seemed to grasp the severity of the statement, looking uncertain. Levi snapped his fingers in front of his nose, making the brunette's eyes snap up.

"Don't doubt yourself. Do you doubt your self when you're sniffing out a bomb that's on a timer with only five minutes left?" Levi asked, face hard.

Eren pursed his lips, looking less uncertain, "No,"

"Then don't now. In both cases, if you doubt yourself, what happens?" Levi prodded further.

"People die," Eren said, swallowing, "A lot of people die."

Silence hung around them for a moment, the weight of his words lingering in the air. Levi's sigh cut through it like a bullet, "Don't look so fuckin' spooked. This shit isn't new, is it? We mess up and somebody dies. The only difference is that we do nothing if somebody dies, we move on and continue with our mission; minimize the casualty count."

Levi knew Eren would have the hardest time with these orders. After looking through the missions statements of some of the past assignments he'd completed Levi had found that the man had a bleeding heart and would likely be torn with guilt once this was over, if everything was done as it should've been. They wouldn't be without non-personnel casualty, that much was certain, but Levi figured he could rely on the brunette to be careful as to minimize casualties more than he could rely on the blonde or even himself.

They couldn't afford to be reckless.

"Now," Levi said, turning back to the folder, "The Marshal trafficking ring is a shifter-specific ring that's located in the undergrounds of Maria. It's small, and it's only garnered the attention of the Corps because we have reason to believe that it's behind the disappearance of one of our shifter trainees,"

"What kind of idiot would kidnap a member of the Survey Corps?" Jean scoffed, "Much less a shifter,"

"It was probably an accident," Eren said, shrugging, "it's not the first time an inexperienced idiot stole from the corps without knowing,"

"If it were a regular foot soldier, it wouldn't be our concern, but..." Levi trailed off, his face pinched with annoyance.

"Because it's a shifter, we have to," Jean drawled, finishing his sentence.

"The commanders are probably gunning to enlist one or two of the other shifters enslaved, too," Eren said thoughtfully.

"Usually, it would be an elimination and that wouldn't be as high-risk as this, fuck knows why it isn't, but we deal with the shitty cards we're dealt," Levi said. He fingered through the pages in the folder for a moment before stopping on a floorplan. "Eyebrows took the liberty of getting us the floorplan of the building they're storing their _product_ in."

It wasn't complicated, as small as it was. It was just a simple warehouse with different sectors that were helpfully labeled and detailed with compartments without complicated hallways.

"Do we know if there are any off-site fosters?" Jean asked, studying the map.

"Probably not," Eren said, pointing to every sector that was labeled _'Containment'_ "Unless this is some huge operation and they've managed to hide it from us, which they probably haven't, this is more than enough space to house all of the shifters they've abducted, right?"

"Unless they're not keeping all of the shifters in the warehouse," Jean said, "It'd be stupid to put all of their eggs in one, enclosed basket. It's basically asking for their operation to be snuffed out."

"Fair points," Levi said, running a hand through his fringe, "and if they know they've got a Survey Corps shifter, they would be in an off-site foster, safe and off our radar."

"There's a chance that they don't know, though, isn't there?" Eren asked hopefully.

"Even then," Levi said, "Survey Corps shifters aren't ones you fuck around with. If they're smart, they'd see the value of one right way, regardless of whether or not they knew where it came from,"

Jean sighed heavily, slumping back against the couch and running a hand over his face, "So basically, this is a hit-or-miss?"

"And if we miss..." Eren bit his lip.

"We probably won't find our shifter," Levi finished grimly. "And we have no fucking idea where this foster could be, assuming there is one."

"This is a nightmare," Jean groaned. "A right pain in the ass,"

Levi stood, "Before we talk about planning, I need to call Eyebrows and find out whether or not we're raiding the right shit before we fuck it up,"

"Will he even be up right now?" Eren asked.

Levi had a glint in his eye, "He will be if I fucking tell him to be."

~

Jean and Eren sat quietly in their shared living space while they waited for Levi to finish his call with Commander Erwin. The silence wasn't tension-charged, but it wasn't comfortable, either and Eren found himself squirming in it.

He kept crossing and uncrossing his legs and shifting between leaning back and leaning forward, fumbling around with his hands.

He was rotating his ankle with his heel rustling on the carpet when he saw Jean look down at his feet in irritation. He worked his jaw, eyes locked on jean as he continued rotating his foot.

Jean shifted, crossing his legs with a deep frown. "Can you stop rotating your foot?"

Eren glared. "Why? I'm not doing anything,"

"You are," Jean said, gritting his teeth. "You're shaking it like you're a damn chihuahua. It's annoying, knock it off,"

Eren glared, crossing his arms and roughly slumping back against the couch, tapping his foot.

"What are you, six?" Jean said, meeting his glare. "Stop moving,"

Eren worked his jaw once more, keeping his foot still. It was barely even the second day, he needed to give his roommate the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he had a tick that made him this irritating. _Benefit of the doubt._

_Get along, Eren, get along._

Get along, yeah, he could do that. He was good at getting along with people. "So what'd you guys do today?"

Jean looked at him briefly, his nose scrunched. "What do you think?"

"...Skiing?" Eren replied, somewhat glad that the blonde didn't seem as annoyed as before

"Where would I ski in the middle of the city?" Jean asked, looking at him like he was stupid.

Eren shrugged, "I wouldn't know,"

Jean scoffed turning away.

Luckily, they didn't have to sit in silence for long because Levi came back, his sleek phone clasped in his hand.

"What'd he say?" Jean asked as Levi sat down on the couch once more.

Levi carelessly tossed his phone on the table, "No change in plans, Eyebrows insists it's the best course of action,"

Eren frowned, "I know he's a commander, but...this seems a little too risky to just jump into,"

"It is," Levi agreed, "but we'll stick with this plan," He paused, looking at Eren and Jean's faces and seeing their hesitance. "We're too new to even consider going somewhere off the radar of our superiors. However, that doesn't mean we're going to trapeze in there like a group of dumbshits without a backup plan if this place doesn't check out."

Jean rested his cheek on his fist. "Like?"

"Actually," Eren mumbled, his eyes glazed in thought, "I think I have an idea,"

Levi raised his brows, gesturing for him to continue with his hand.

"Well..." Eren bit his lip. "It's simple, isn't it? We just...extend the duration of the mission. We'll go to the warehouse tomorrow, but we'll just...hold off on the whole collection thing,"

"Makes sense," Jean said, "but what are we supposed to tell Erwin when he asked why it's taking so damn long?"

"Eyebrows is likely actually expecting something like this," Levi said with a frown, glaring down at his phone.

"How?" Eren asked.

"He's not an upstanding citizen, believe me, but he's not a total fucking idiot. He wouldn't send one team of his best shifters to a place where he didn't know our shifter was being held, that'd be fucking stupid. If he wanted us to do what the mission says it wants us to do, he would've sent in multiple teams to cover all of our bases," Levi said, crossing his legs.

Eren nodded in understanding, "So he wants us to use the loopholes in our orders, then,"

"Sounds like the bastard," Jean muttered, Eren quirking a brow at the comment.

"We need a better plan if this is the way we're taking this shit." Levi said, "For starters, we'll probably be away for around a week rather than the previously estimated day or two. Next, we'll have to figure out if there's a foster, and if there is, where we can find it. I doubt we'll be able to do that before we leave, but I'd like to try,"

"I have a friend who might be able to help with that, but no guarantees," Eren piped up, thinking of his little blonde coconut genius.

Levi nodded to him seriously, "Good, then I'm leaving that up to you, Jaeger,"

Eren nodded with a small blush, he didn't think Levi would give in to him handling that by himself as easily as he did. He thought the man would at least want to meet his friend. It was an olive branch, one that had been extended with a large amount of difficulty, no doubt, and Eren warmed at the gesture

"Would that friend be able to get us eyes on the inside of the building?" Jean asked, looking at Eren with sharp, intelligent eyes.

Eren nodded once, "That's what I'm counting on,"

"I wouldn't count on them having cameras where they keep their _'product,'_ " Levi said, immediately catching on to Jean's line of questioning.

Jean shrugged, "Worth a shot, right? If his friend is so good,"

Eren frowned at the challenge but overlooked Jean to look at Levi with determination, "I guarantee he'll be able to find something of use,"

"If he can't, then we'll have to work on it when we get there but, either way, we'll find out within the next day or so," Levi said, Eren saw him rubbing his nail into the pad of his thumb.

"What do we do if there is a foster, though?" Eren asked suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed, "We can't be in two places at once and if we get one, we lose the other,"

"We could cut their communications," Jean suggested, his thumb and forefinger rubbing and pulling on his lip in thought, "try to make it to the warehouse before anyone can be warned,"

"Then they get warned while we're in the middle of our mission and we're trapped," Levi said, clearly contradicting.

"So, it's already been decided that the military shifter is definitely being chosen over the dozens of victims in the warehouse?" Eren said, looking somewhat bothered.

Levi's face was grim, "We don't know that there's anyone of worth inside of the warehouse if the shifter isn't there,"

Eren nodded with pursed lips. He was disgusted with how the Corps worked; he was disgusted that they would risk dozens of innocent people to save one person just because they were who they saw as more beneficial to their _cause._

"We'll get everyone," Jean gruffed, "we've got one thing they don't."

"Like what?" Eren asked skeptically, "They have the numbers, the resources, and the knowledge. We're in the dark,"

"We've got three military trained shifters, they got one, at best, but I guarantee they're not as good as us," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I wanted to get this up before September was out but I missed the mark by a few days, oops. Anyway, this is a double-feature and contains the content of two chapters instead of just one, enjoy!

For the second time that night, Eren found himself knocking on his best friend's door. This time, however, he was in a much better mood.

Armin opened the door, squinting up at him in sleepy confusion, "Did something happen?" he yawned, "Why're you here again?"

Eren smiled at him apologetically, "Sorry, Armin, but I need your help with something."

Armin frowned, holding his gaze for a second before sighing and waving him in, "Come on, then."

Eren closed the door behind him as Armin sat in his desk chair, he waved his hand. "Well?"

Eren's smile stayed placid on his lips as he spoke to his sleepy teddy friend. "I was wondering," he drew the mission folder from his his rucksack, showing it to Armin, "If you could help me with something."

Armin looked from the folder to Eren's face, frowning. "It's three in the morning, Eren. I have to be up in two hours."

His smile grew sheepish. "Please?"

Armin stared hard at him for another few seconds before he sighed, "What do you need me to do?"

"We need to access the visuals inside of this warehouse," He handed Armin the floor plan along with the coordinate location.

Armin looked over them for a moment, nodding. He stood. "Come on, we'll have to go to the base's tech room. I'd rather not do this with my laptop."

Eren followed Armin until the halls they roamed were unfamiliar. He'd never been a tech sort of guy, so he'd never even been close to this part of the Garrison before; he'd always stuck close to the training grounds and his squad and never ventured too far.

But he never expected the Garrison's tech room to be so...much? He didn't know why it had never occurred to him that the Garrison had to have had _something_ like this somewhere in the base, but it just really hadn't ever occurred to him. It was strange to think that some people spent whole days there, building and designing the technology Eren used on a daily basis. Technology that he had used to save his own ass more times than he could count.

Maybe he'd have to bring them a treat one of these days. To thank them. Nobody turned down thank you cupcakes, did they?

Armin led him through a few doors -which then lead to the realization that it was not just a tech room, but an entire tech wing-until they reached a room set up with many monitors, some reaching to the ceiling.

Armin waved him over to one of the setups in the corner, taking a seat in the office chair in front of three monitors. He reached over, putting the floor plan and coordinates into a scanner. "This will tell me where the warehouse is." He looked up at Eren, "What are you looking for in there?"

Eren's lips set into a grim line. "People. A shifter, in specific."

Armin nodded in understanding. "A shifter with military interest?"

"Yeah," Eren replied, "Commander Erwin wants us to try and find them,"

Armin looked at him with confusion, "Is the shifter the only one they've taken?"

Eren shook his head, "No, they're just the only one they care about."

Armin pursed his lips, saying nothing until the machine beeped and a page opened up on both the monitor directly in front of Armin and the one to his right. Armin squinted at the screen, "Let's see..."

Armin tapped a few keys on the keyboard and Eren saw a loading page pop up. "I'm checking to see if there are any Bluetooth connections I can hop onto before I try to get onto their broadband," Armin said.

Once the bar reached one-hundred, Armin frowned."No Bluetooth...let me try and connect to their wi-fi."

"How can you connect to their wi-fi from this far away?" Eren asked.

Armin gave him a secretive smile, "Magic."

Eren didn't say another word as Armin looked through some stuff on the monitor. Armin leaned back, "There's only one computer connected to an accessible broadband," he looked at Eren, apologetic, "And there's only one camera connected to it."

Eren frowned. That wasn't what he had been hoping for, but it was better than nothing, "Where is it?"

Armin moved to the side, gesturing to the camera feed showing through one monitor and the floorplan still showing on the other. The camera feed was just facing a stagnant door. Armin pointed to the back on the floorplan, "I think it's directed at a back door. Given a little bit more time, I can tell you which one, if you want,"

Eren nodded gratefully, "Please, it would be a great help. How long do you think it'll take for you to find out which it is?"

Armin shrugged, "No more than half an hour, I think," He ran a twirled a finger at the camera feed, "I know this seems inconsequential, but, in my experience, a live feed that can be accessed from multiple devices when the others can't? It's practically a huge neon arrow that says 'suspicious.' I'm sorry I can't do more, but it _is_ something,"

Eren smiled, reaching out to ruffle his blonde locks, "Yeah, it's helpful, thanks," he pulled his phone out f his pocket, "I'm going to go call Levi and tell him what you found and let you work in peace, 'kay?"

Armin nodded, "Alright, I'll shoot you a text when I'm finished."

Eren patted Armin's shoulder before exiting the room. He tapped on Levi's contact, added just before he'd left, and put it up to his ear as it rang.

"What?" Levi's harsh voice cut through the speakers. Eren coughed out a laugh.

"Is that how you answer the phone all of the time?" Eren asked lightly.

"Get to the point, brat," Levi said, clearly unamused. Eren rolled his eyes. What a stick in the mud.

"My friend could only find one camera that was remotely accessible," Eren said promptly, "I'm sorry there isn't more,"

Levi sighed tiredly and Eren could imagine him swiping a hand through his fringe, "No, it wasn't an unexpected outcome. If anything, it's surprising you could find anything. Where's the camera?"

"It's pointed directly at what Armin believes is a back door. He's working right now to figure out which one," Eren told him.

"Then that door must be important," Levi said thoughtfully.

Eren nodded, knowing that Levi couldn't see it, "Mhm, that's what Armin was saying."

"Well, it's not what we had hoped for, but it is useful. Good job, brat," Levi praised.

Eren beamed at the praise, "Of course! Do you want me to call Jean and tell him?" He didn't want to, but.

"No," Levi said, much to his relief, "I'll inform him myself and we'll put it into our plan of action while you get that information from your friend,"

"Okay, I should be back within the hour," Eren said.

"Got it," Levi said before hanging up.

Eren pulled his phone away and saw that it had only been a six-minute conversation. He leaned against the wall, ready to wait.

~

Jean had his arms thrown lazily over the back of the couch as he watched Levi pace the living room, his phone to his ear. 

Levi put the phone down, hanging up with a small sigh and Jean leaned forward, "Well? How did his informant pan out?"

"Not well," Levi said, pocketing his phone. "But we did get something,"

"What?" Jean asked, his brow ticking up n his forehead. 

"There is one camera," Levi said, pointing to the floorplan copy they had. He gestured towards the back of the building, "The brat's friend said it's one pointed at one of these backdoors,"

"Do we know which one?" Jean asked.

"We're in the process of finding out, apparently," Levi said, "it's not a lot but it's a fuck ton more than what we had,"

"Do you think it's safe to assume that it's the back door closest to their captives?" Jean asked.

"I don't think it's safe to assume anything, right now," Levi said honestly, "without any extra insight, we can't begin to fathom what significance that door holds. It could just be a door that doesn't lock correctly, we don't know."

Jean nodded lightly in understanding, "If we get the feed sent to one our phones we could watch it before we get there, try to find out why it's so significant,"

"I'll text the brat and tell him to get it sent to his phone," Levi said, drawing his phone out once more.

"Why his?" Jean asked almost indignantly.

Levi looked at him, deadpan, "Do you really have the patience to stare at an unchanging screen for hours on end, dog breath?"

Jean winced, "No, but who says he does?"

Levi's face dropped more, if possible, "Did you shit out your brain the last time you went to the toilet? What do you think his specialty is?" He waved his phone with a sarcastic look, "Stakeouts are ninety-percent of his job,"

Jean scowled at the mocking but said nothing as Levi typed out his text to Eren.

"We should go upstairs and pack before we have to leave," Levi said.

"We don't leave for another ten hours," Jean said.

"But the brat's going to be back soon and after that, we'll need to work out a solid plan," Levi replied.

"A solid plan without solid information?" Jean asked skeptically.

Levi narrowed his eyes at him, "Problem?"

Jean held his gaze, his lip pulling up into a sneer. It was against his instincts to let a lower class of breeder challenge him like Levi was and even though Jean knew full well that Levi could probably drop him as they were, his temper flared.

Levi tensed, his hackles rising as he saw the wolf-shifter stiffen, his top lip rising and falling in agitation, "Got something to say, dog breath?"

Jean clenched his fists in his lap, "Is it really smart to irritate someone who's a part of a superior breed, Ackerman?"

"Huh?" Levi looked down on him condescendingly, "What makes you think you dog shits are the 'superior breed?' You stink of shit, you throw your weight around like graceless fawns, and your shitty pride will be enough to get you killed. How does that sound 'superior?'"

Jean mashed his teeth together, "Oh yeah? And what's so good about a prissy, aquaphobic lap animal?"

Jean expected him to lash out in kind, but he just smirked cockily, "You're just an insecure sack of shit, Kirchstein." Levi then snorted derisively, turning to walk up the stairs, "Hysterical,"

Jean's eyes bore a hole into Levi's back as he walked u the stairs with grace. He clenched his fists so tightly he was sure his fingernails would draw blood from his palms.

For the first time, he hoped he would be allowed to trade teams like a prized cow. Anything but being an average cow just there to give the cat its cream.

He hated being looked down on. Both of his new 'squadmates' had taken it upon themselves to make sure he knew he was less than them.

He _hated_ that.

Then again, wasn't that what the whole Survey Corps had been doing to him since he joined up? What else was new?

He let his head drop, his chin resting on his chest.

No one valued him; he didn't blame them.

~

It was an hour before Armin had finished everything.

Armin swiveled to smile at him, "I sent you an email with an encrypted link. Your phone should be able to decrypt it in no time, and you'll be able to watch the feed freely without anybody knowing you're there."

Eren gave his friend a bear hug, "Thanks, this helps me a lot."

Armin squeezed him back, just as tightly. He pulled away with a smile, keeping a hand on Eren's elbow, "'Course, just come back safe, okay?"

Eren ruffled his blonde locks, "'Course," he mimicked, "I'll buy you coffee to pay you back whenever I'm done, alright?"

Armin punched him lightly in the shoulder, "You better," Armin paused, yawning widely. He rubbed his eyes and snuck a glance at the clock, "If that's all, I still have training in the morning,"

Eren smiled at him apologetically, "Sure, sorry for keeping you up,"

Armin gathered his things and waved, "Have a safe trip,"

Eren took over turning everything off in Armin's wake before exiting the building altogether and starting his trek back to the house.

'The house' he noted, not 'home.' Bitterly, he wondered if he would ever call that cold house home.

He was walking down the sidewalk and he pulled his phone out, noting he had around an hour before he absolutely had to be back and took a U-turn, heading towards a nearby bar that he and his friends had frequented when they were trainees.

The bar had been created by one of Eren's superiors and family friends, Hannes, and had even been a part of the same training squad Eren was in when he was a trainnee. Hence, the bar was called "The 104th." it was tradition for anyone who was a part of the 104th training squad to visit the bar at least once. For Eren, however, it was a safe haven.

Eren smiled fondly up at the sign, his eyes staring forward as the bar doors came into view, the glowing blue light the sign gave off welcoming him in. Welcoming him home, or at least as good of a home he would be getting any time soon.

He pushed open the bar doors and was greeted by the light chatter of the few stragglers who hadn't left yet. The bar was open 24/7, but at this time of night, it started to die down considerably.

Immediately, he saw Hannes leaned over the bar top with a cigarette hanging from his lips as he chatted with another familiar blonde. He looked up when he heard Eren's heels clicking on the wood of the floors. He grinned, pulling the cigarette from his lips, "Eren! You rat, where've you been these last couple of weeks?"

Reiner patted him on the shoulder as he sat by him. Eren shrugged, "Here and there,"

Hannes went to making Eren's usual and Reiner took a drink of what looked like brandy before speaking, "I heard you were transferred."

Eren rested his cheek on his fist, nodding, "Yeah, me and two other guys were taken off our squads the other day."

"For what?" Reiner asked, watching his face.

Eren shrugged, tempted to roll his eyes, "Something about optimizing our skills or something. it's bull, really."

Hannes slid him a shot of vodka alongside a martini before resuming to lean on the counter, "How've you been, kid?"

Eren threw the shot back, knowing it would be the only one he was having tonight, "Fine, how about you?"

"Same old, same old with this old man," Hannes drawled, he then gestured to the bar around them, "Been havin' to listen to my baby bitch 'n moan about how little you visit though, my barstools miss your butt, my boy, I'm tellin' you,"

Eren snickered, "I doubt it, Hannes."

"No, really," Hannes insisted, his eyes going wide, "I can hear 'em cryin' at night,"

"Pretty sure that's just gas," Reiner muttered, putting his glass to hi slips.

Hannes laughed boisterously, "That might be it!"

Eren laughed along with him, letting the stress he carried in his bones see out of him in the company of his family. He took a sip of his martini, humming at the pleasant taste. Reiner raised his brow, "You still drink that girly shit?"

Eren scoffed, "Try telling Mikasa her preferred drink is 'girly shit,' see how that goes," He watched Reiner pale with a smirk, taking another sip.

"Ain't that the truth," Hannes chuckled good-naturedly, "How is she anyway?"

"Good..." Eren replied with a little hesitation.

Reiner's forehead scrunched in confusion, "You don't sound too sure about that, Jaeger,"

Eren shrugged, taking another sip of his martini, "She's the vice-captain of her squad, now,"

Reiner nodded in understanding and went back to his drink while Hannes inquired further, a concerned lilt to his voice, "What happened to Armin?"

Eren waved his hand, shaking his head quickly, "Armin's fine! He's actually...uh, captain?"

Hannes's eyebrows shot up on his forehead with surprise, "Did you get booted?"

"Not...exactly..."Eren responded slowly, scratching a spot behind his ear, "I was transferred to a new, specialized squad,"

"Oh? With who?" Hannes asked. Eren saw Reiner's eyes flicker in interest.

"Levi Ackerman and Jean Kirchstein," Eren said. Reiner whistled under his breath, long and whiny.

"Humanity's strongest and the Survey Corps's most promising new vice-captain? Damn," Reiner said.

"Just those two?" Hannes asked, idly picking up a glass to dry though Eren saw no dampness.

Eren nodded, "It's weird, I know, but..."

"...Superiors' orders, gotcha," Hannes finished.

"What if there's an attack on the border?" Reiner asked, "They can't send you out as a squad of three but they won't let their strongest shifters sit out."

Eren hummed in thought. That _was_ puzzling. It was also something Eren hadn't had the time to consider.

All three branches of the military had a 'No man's land' code. The 'No man's land' code stated that no soldier be sent out with fewer than four other members of the same squad. As such, A combatant squad cannot have less than five soldiers. Furthermore, creating a combatant squad with fewer than five soldiers broke the twenty-sixth Trost declaration stating that no soldier, by their born human rights, was to be intentionally endangered by their superior officer or legal governing bodies.

Their squad was essentially illegal. 

Eren shrugged, "I don't know, let's just hope we don't have a breach, for now."

Reiner blew out a puff of air, "Glad I didn't get recruited for that mess."

Eren hummed, his brow furrowing, "But why weren't you?"

"Recruited?" Reiner asked.

"Yeah, you and Bertholdt aren't too shabby as shifters. Why risk having an incomplete combatant squad?" Eren asked.

"You don't do much shifter work for the military do ya?" Hannes asked, lighting a new cigarette.

Reiner shook his head.

"That makes sense, then, I guess?" Eren mumbled.

Hannes blew out a puff of smoke and regarded Eren seriously, "That squad of yours is going to go up in flames."

Eren felt a spark of irritation, his blood heating. Levi had said the same thing. His fists clench, "Why does everyone keep saying that?" 

"If everyone's sayin' it, my boy, it's probably true," Hannes said sympathetically, "You've always been an optimist to a fault,"

"Is that such a bad thing?" Eren asked, almost pitifully.

Hannes rested a hand on his shoulder, "No, 'course it ain't a bad thing. Sometimes people need some optimism, I just don't like seein' you gettin' hurt in the end,"

Eren gave him a weak smile. Reiner knocked his shoulder against Eren's, "Don't be so down, Jaeger, from what know of 'em, Kirchstein and Ackerman could use some optimism," Reiner then scrunched his nose, looking like he had a bad taste in his mouth. Eren's interest peeked.

"Do you know them personally?" Eren asked, his finger tracing around the rim of his glass.

Reiner gave a one-shouldered shrug, "Nah, not really,"

A sly grin grew on Eren's face and he narrowed his eyes at the defensive blonde, "C'mon, if it's getting that reaction, it's gotta be good. You can't just _not_ tell me,"

Reiner frowned, putting his meaty hand on Eren's face and shoving it down onto the counter, "You're drunk, take a nap."

Eren struggled, lifting his face. "Tell me," He slurred, his cheek being squished by Reiner's smelly palm.

Reiner growled, putting more pressure on Eren's face, Eren grinned. He hadn't gotten a chance to really hang with Reiner and his old training squad properly in years. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed the beefy oaf.

He berated himself internally for letting their friendship go, as he, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie were practically inseparable, those days. He wondered what the other two were doing, he hadn't seen hide nor tail of them in a very long time.

Reiner rolled his eyes, "'S nothing special, Jaeger, Pixis had us partner up with them for a minute. It wasn't...the most pleasant experience."

Eren's eyebrows went up, "With Levi?"

Reiner waved his hand, shaking his head, "Ackerman was fine-" he paused, looking into Erens eyes with intense focus and severity, "-this time. This time Ackerman was fine. Kirchstein was the problem,"

Eren couldn't lie; he was surprised. "What?"

"His dick was too big for his ass. He acted like a crazed, nutso canine." He cut him a brief glance, "no offense."

Eren chuckled, a deep, throaty sound, "No, dude, I get it, we had a standoff the first day we met,"

Reiner grinned, "Did you lose like a pussy?"

Eren glared, indignantly scoffing, "As if, no canine shifter has ever bested me."

"Annie," Reiner said

His glare got even more intense, his cheeks getting ink, "She's not a canine."

"You're right," Reiner sighed as if beaten by this news. Then, his grin popped back up, "She's a turtle. Does that do it for your pride?"

"Says the armadillo," Eren shot back.

Reiner lifted his hand carelessly, palms forward, "Hey, I'm proud of who I am."

"No shame..." Eren muttered, shaking his head.

Reiner winked, "None!"

"Need a refill?" Hannes asked, gesturing to Eren's empty cup.

Eren frowned and pulled out his phone to check the time. He sighed, shoving his phone back into his pocket, "No, I have to get going,"

"Hot date?" Reiner asked.

"I wish," Eren muttered, "I have an early morning mission,"

"And you stayed up until asscrack?" Reiner asked skeptically.

Eren shrugged, "New squad, time limits, no-go."

Reiner winced as Eren stood. "I don't envy you, man,"

Eren gave him a lopsided smile, "Yeah..." He waved at Hannes, "I'll come to see you whenever I get back,"

Hannes grinned, "I'll hold that to ya,"

"Come out with the three of us the next time you're free," Reiner said, "It'll be fun,"

Eren grinned, "Sure thing. G'night, guys."

~

When Eren entered the house, the lights were on but the living room had bee vacated with all of their documents still sprawled all over the table.

He shut the front door with a quiet click and trudged upstairs, assuming that was where they had gone, but went to his bedroom as he was sure that neither of his housemates would appreciate him barging in. He'd wait until he was needed.

Though he found he was needed sooner than he had anticipated as he phone buzzed, showing he'd gotten a text from Levi.

Received:-Captain Levi:

Are you back yet?

Sent-Captain Levi:

I got back a minute ago

He sat for a second, waiting for a text but instead there was a pounding on the door, "Get down here, brat, we don't have all night,"

He heard the clacking of heels walking away from his door and spared a quick thought to how disgusting Levi must've felt all of the time, wearing his uniform from the crack of down, before getting up and going downstairs.

"So, brat? What did your friend find?" Levi asked as they all sat down together.

Eren flipped through his bag for a second, pulling out the floorplan that Armin had marked in red ink. He slid it across the table to Levi, Jean leaning in on the side.

"That's the door with the camera?" Jean asked, pointing to said door which had a glaring red circle drawn around it.

Eren rolled his eyes, " _No,_ why _ever_ would _that_ be the door?"

Jean glared but a sharp look from Levi stopped them from continuing. "Stop arguing like fucking children," he snapped, he nodded his head at Eren, "what else?"

"Armin said that it was likely that the building has more cameras, but we'd have to tap into their wires to get to them," Eren told them, trying to draw any extra important information out of his conversation with Armin.

Levi pursed his lips, "We'll skip that part. It's a waste of time, as far as I'm concerned."

"Why?" Eren asked. He didn't really care that much, he figured they could make do without, but he didn't understand why they would forgo a resource.

Levi's slate eyes met his, "The last thing we want to be doing right now is overthinking before we've even seen the place. This mission is going to be judgment calls through and through."

"Okay..." Jean said, drawing out the 'ay,' "We still don't have a plan A," Eren nodded in agreement, having momentarily forgotten their lack of true planning.

Levi shrugged, leaning back and letting a hand rest through his fringe as he tilted his head to the left."Simple. Brat, did you get the feed sent to your phone?"

Eren lifted his phone, shaking it, "Yup,"

"You'll watch the feed the whole way there. No naps, no food, no bathroom unless one of us is there to cover it. If we get lucky, we'll see something damning; if not, we'll spend a day or two trying to get our bearings. We don't have a lot to go on here, so we'll have to play it by ear, unfortunately," Levi said, looking none-too-pleased.

Eren looked out f the corner of his eye and noticed that Jean was staring at him, frowning. 'What's your problem?" he asked.

Jean's lips pursed, "I don't have one," he muttered, "Just--are you really gonna be able to sit through the whole trip just watching the feed?"

Levi didn't look amused, quirking a brow delicately, "Didn't we already discuss this in detail?"

Eren decidedly ignored the fact that they had supposedly already talked about this 'in detail' without him and met Jean's eye evenly, "What do you think my job is, exactly?"

Jean gave a one-sided shrug, looking off to the side almost sheepishly, "Dunno, bombs 'n drug stuff?"

Eren gave a slow nod, "Yeah...but it's not like people are too willing to give up their bombs and drugs to the military, right? If we're not patient, we'll go out in a blaze of glory, if you know what I mean," he said with a tilted grin.

Jean just gave a short hum.

Levi looked between the two like they were idiots, much to Eren's offense. "Right," he drawled. "Now that that's over, if nobody has any better ideas, make sure your shit is packed and try to get some sleep. Especially you, Jaeger, you won't be driving, but I'm not fucking with you when I tell you you're going to be looking at that screen the whole time,"

Eren nodded sharply, "Of course."

~

There was a car waiting for them when they came outside a few hours later, bags in hand. A note was waiting in the foyer and Levi picked it up.

He turned to his squad mates, tossing the note back in its place, "Eyebrows lent us an armored car," he said.

"He...snuck into the house to...give us a car?" Eren asked, dumbfounded.

Jean sighed heavily, "You'll get used to it,"

They left the house and saw a white van parked in front of it. "That...looks like a soccer mom van," Eren commented.

"It's one of the Survey Corps's more discreet models of armored vehicle, "Jean said, running his hand down the side of the thing, looking almost excited. "They're a lightweight, transparent class,"

Eren ticked a brow, "Nerd much?"

Jean glanced back with a glare, "It's not nerdy to know something about the things we rely on to keep us from getting killed, Jaeger."

Levi strolled past them towards the driver's seat, "Enough, ladies, you're both pretty. Stop arguing over the fucking car."

Jean and Eren both turned their scowl onto Levi as he climbed into the unlocked driver's seat where the keys were already in the ignition. He climbed back out, popping the trunk. "Throw your shit in and let's go,"

All three of them threw their duffels and gear into the spacious back of the car, slamming the trunk shut.

"Do you have the feed pulled up, brat?" Levi asked as all of them climbed into the car, Eren sitting in the back middle seat and Jean in the passengers.

Eren strapped himself into the car and pulled his phone out before giving Levi and toothy thumbs-up, "We're live."

Levi pulled sunglasses dangling from his shirt and put them over his eyes, starting the car, "Get comfy, we've got a long drive."

~

Jean was surprised that they were already three hours into the drive and Eren's eyes hadn't strayed from his phone once. He'd stayed diligently still with his attention locked onto the feed playing on his phone without the slightest complaint.

Maybe he was a _little_ impressed.

The car ride had been mostly uninteresting. It lacked the friendly atmosphere one might've found on a road trip with friends and instead held a daunting air of anticipation, anxiousness thrumming beneath their skins.

They hadn't had enough prep time. No matter how much they did with the time given, there just wasn't enough and Jean felt that all three of them were painfully aware of that.

Usually, squads had piles of missions available to them, each one of which they had weeks to plan for. Missions went on back to back and, if you were a part of a strong squad, you'd never have a chance to do anything but. Jean didn't know if it would be like that with this squad, but if it was, this was an odd way to start it.

He could see that both Levi and Eren were also unnerved by the nature of their assignment, but figured they wouldn't be talking about it.

He grit his teeth. Who's bright idea was this? Nobody wants to be a squad with people you couldn't even talk to.

He just hoped their lack of chemistry wouldn't put them or anyone else in jeopardy.

~

Eren jerked in his seat, Levi eyed him through the mirror, "Have to take a shit, Jaeger?"

Eren shook his head absently, "Someone's trying to get through the door." his two companions tensed.

"Who?" Levi demanded.

Eren's expression became pinched, "Looks like one of their captives."

"Our shifter?" Levi asked immediately.

"Mm, no," Eren said with a rush of air. Levi thought of the red-haired shifter, sighing. It wasn't her, then. "He's trying really hard to get out, but I think the door is locked,"

"We can mark it being unlocked off of our ideas, then," Jean muttered.

Eren's expression turned pinched and Levi figured he was hoping she would make it out. "Someone's going to find him," Levi said quietly, stopping at an intersection.

Eren nodded, "I know, I'm just..."

"Hopeful," Levi finished for him, "We'll get him out."

Eren didn't reply, eyes locked on the screen, his shoulders impossibly tense. After a second, he spoke again, "Someone just grabbed him," he said quietly, sadly, "I can't see them anymore,"

Levi nodded once, his hands fisting around the steering wheel, "Now we know the door isn't unlocked,"

"Yeah," Eren sighed, downtrodden, "Now we know,"

~

They drove for many more hours without any change before Levi stopped. 

He pulled into a hotel parking lot, putting the car into park, "We'll spend the night here."

"How far away are we?" Eren asked, unbuckling himself without looking away from his phone.

"We're only a couple blocks away," Levi replied. Eren's head snapped up in surprise.

"How'd you get us here so quickly?" He asked.

"Who knows," Levi muttered mysteriously, amused by the look Eren responded with. 

They all piled out of the car, taking everything out of the back of the van. "We'll connect the feed to the television in the room when we get in there so you can take a break," Levi told Eren as they trudged up and into the hotel. Eren nodded thankfully.

Their room was a simple one with two queen-sized beds, a mini-fridge, a desk with a chair, a TV, and a window seat.

Jean reached into his duffel, tossing a connector cable to Eren. Eren immediately plugged it into his phone and into the TV. "We'll have to switch which phone is playing the feed soon, my phone needs to charge."

Levi nodded, "Send the link to my phone and in an hour we'll switch them out,"

Eren nodded and after a couple seconds, Levi felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 

Jean was trifling with their gear, piling borrowed guns onto the bed. He met his hands on his hips, "Are we actually going to use this stuff?"

"No," Levi said, knowing they'd all brought their weapons of choice, "But we don't know the situation. We may need to arm civilians,"

Levi saw Jean purse his lips in distaste. He imagined that he'd armed civilians before, just as Levi had and as Levi was sure Eren had, and he doubted any of them liked untrained people of unknown loyalty handling deadly weapons. Their first priority had to be their targets' safety, though, so it was a risk they sometimes had to take.

"The feed's up," Eren told them, standing form where he was lent over the TV stand.

Jean looked at the TV with disgust, "That's really what you were watching the whole time?"

Eren shrugged, "It ain't glamorous."

"Brat's got the first shower," Levi said. He peered down at Eren, "Right after, you go to sleep. You did good today, kid."

Eren's face went red and he lightly scratched his cheek, "It was just...watching, sir."

"Watching that would've turned any sane man to suicide," Jean scoffed, fiddling with his cellphone.

Eren frowned, "Are you trying to call me crazy?"

Jean rolled his eyes but didn't reply, sitting on the bed.

"Enough," Levi drawled, breaking Eren's focus on the blonde, "Shower, then sleep. None of this shit before bed. Scram, brat,"

Eren's shoulders slumped as he slinked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Levi cut a glance to Jean, "Stop whatever shit you're trying to pull, Kirchstein."

Kirchstein glanced at him for a mere moment, "I don't know what you're talking about, man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you prefer that I wrote chapters like this more often? (AKA 5000+ chapters instead of 2000+?)
> 
> We've got some development in this chapter, which is great. The first part of this fic is going to be mainly focused on Eren's development more than Levi or Jean's, honestly, so I'm sorry if you're missing out on some extra Levi and Jean POV, they'll get their time.
> 
> Thoughts?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter? So much? I wanted to make it longer but if it was going to be longer, I wouldn't have finished it this month because this chapter was an absolute trainwreck. Next month is NaNoWriMo, so I'll be writing Humanity's Hope, hopefully a longer chapter, but I don't know when it'll be out. 
> 
> I'm also not feeling great so I don't know how well this is edited sorry

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

That was the only thought running through Eren's head as he hung inside of a shattered window, his cerulean eyes scanning the ground below him in what could only be classified as horror. His breath was puffing in the air in front of him and he felt something warm dripping down the arm still hanging in the window. Blood, no doubt.

 _"...ger? Jaeger! Respond! Jaeger!"_ Levi's loud, deep voice resonated from his earpiece.

 _"C'mon, Jaeger, give me the go-ahead,"_ Jean's tight voice filtered through next, _"We don't have all day. Ackerman, should I go in?"_

Levi sighed, _"G-"_

"No," The suddenness of Eren's voice, previously lost to shock, startled even himself.

 _"What do you mean, no? What's going on in there, Jaeger?"_ Levi demanded.

"Nothing...absolutely nothing," Eren breathed.

 _"The hell do you mean nothing?"_ Jean asked. Eren could hear him as he started moving.

"Don't come," Eren told him, "There-There's nothing in here."

Eren could hear both of their breaths freeze. Eren bit his lip harshly enough to draw blood. "It's been vacated. Completely. No body count; no nothing."

It was silent for a bit longer until, finally, Levi breathed, _"Touch down, both of you, we need to regroup."_

 _"Yes, sir,"_ Both Eren and Jean replied simultaneously.

Eren let his arm unhook from the window sill with a wet sound, bracing for the long fall. He winced as he hit the ground, a shock shooting up his legs and through his spine. The slam of his landing echoed emptily through the achingly barren warehouse.

All at once, the pain of the last hour rushed back to him and suddenly he was very, very tired.

How had things gotten to this? They'd had every planned out perfectly; They were going to go to the warehouse, stake the place out, and if their shifter was there, they would go forward with their plan.

But that wasn't what had happened and Eren just couldn't seem to wrap his head around how it went so wrong. They knew that it probably wasn't going to be as cut and clear as they had initially hoped, but they thought they'd achieve _something_ today. Instead, when Eren had been sent down to scope for signs of activity, he'd heard nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Impossible, right? How the hell could a warehouse full of captives and criminals be completely silent? Trick question, it couldn't. Eren had seen many many warehouses full of criminals in his day and, no matter how hard they tried, they were never as quiet or as discrete as they had probably hoped.

Suspicious, Eren had climb up to a window to investigate and low and behold, it was empty.

_Completely and utterly empty._

No Criminals. No captives. No. Shifter. 

Eren let his legs straighten, his shoulders drooping with disappointment. He glanced around the warehouse. blood stains, broken glass, stray clothing, loose feathers, some abandoned furniture. 

He started walking towards the large entrance of the building.

All of that, and no shifter.

~

Jean opened his mouth, his eyes turning to look at Eren as he approached, but, after seeing the sorry state the brunette was in, he wisely kept his mouth shut, crossing his arms.

Levi watched Eren approach with a soft-set frown on his face, barely creasing the edges of his lips. "Jaeger." Levi's voice startled Eren and his shoulder stiffened before his head raised up. Jean winced as the man's arm came into view, still sluggishly dripping blood on the pavement.

Levi took a step towards him, Jean's eyes following the motion curiously. What was he planning to do? His back stiffened as Levi's hand raised. He wasn't going to _hit him_ for that, was he?

Jean took a minuscule step, his arm twitching at his side. He'd stop the man if he tried to hit their squadmate.

It happened as if in slow motion and Jean couldn't tell if he had even breathed, watching that sharp, straightened hand raised up in the air. He saw Eren's eyes follow the motion with his eyes, tenseness overtaking him.

A stutter in Jean's chest, Levi's hand started to come down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Jean took another step as Levi's hand made contact. He stopped short.

Both Eren and Jean's eyes widened in surprise, Levi's hand resting on Eren's shoulder, giving it a pat and a sturdy shake, "There was nothing we could've done." His voice wasn't comforting, not in the least, but Jean could recognize sympathy when he saw it. Apparently, Eren could, as well.

Eren's eyes drifted slowly from Levi's hand, still on his shoulder, to his eyes, his lips pursing as he thought over Levi's words. Jean saw it the moment Eren's eyes lit up in stubborn determination. Eren gave a nod, short and curt, "I know."

Levi looked pleased with the brown-haired shifter's acceptance and moved back enough to see both Jean and Eren's faces. "We'll go back to our motel, check with our intel, and find out what the fuck just happened."

"I'll go do a thorough search on the warehouse," Jean said, he cut Eren a nonjudgemental glance. "assuming you didn't have the time to."

Eren winced. He gave Jean a short, apologetic glance. "Yeah, sorry."

Jean stared at Eren for a minute but eventually shrugged slipping his hands into his pockets, "Whatever."

"Set a timer on your phone for an hour," Levi said, "we'll keep our comms on under the assumption that this shit hole isn't completely abandoned, but in case they cut out, we'll meet at the nearby creek in an hour."

Jean grabbed his phone, setting the timer as he was instructed. He gave Levi and Eren a nod, "An hour then,"

Levi just turned on his heel but Eren, as he was walking away, Jean could've sworn he had mumbled, "Don't die,"

Jean scoffed. As if he would.

He stood around for a minute until Levi and Eren disappeared through the trees and he looked up, the sun was getting lower in the sky.

With that thought in mind, he reached down into his duffel, which had been sitting at his feet, and grabbed his camera and black light along with a couple of ziplock bags, gloves, and a surgical face mask.

This wasn't his first rodeo and believe him when he said he did _not_ want to breathe in any of the funky shit that could be sporing at some sites.

He slipped the gloves on and put the mask on his face, double tying the knot. He threw the strap of his camera around his neck and gripped his flashlight, kicking his duffel back int the cover of a nearby tree.

He walked into the warehouse, frowning at the lack of light. This should've been done sooner, but Jean could see enough so he thought there was no real reason to complain. Or grab his flashlight from the duffel that was just _so far away._

He clicked on the black light, carefully shining it at his feet as he walked, briefly running it up the walls on occasion.

He walked forward at a snail's pace, barely a crawl for a good while, thoroughly checking every check of dust with the black light and a quick swipe of his fingers. He knew that they hadn't been far off. He'd considered the possibility of them having the wrong warehouse for a quick second, but their warehouse was almost completely devoid of dust or even settled sprinklings of dirt.

There was dirt, sure, it was impossible that there wouldn't be, but it wasn't the sort of dirt that had blown in as he couldn't shake it with his breath or even a light tap of his foot, no, for a warehouse that, by local forecasts' reports, hadn't been rained on in weeks, the dirt was too firm and settled; None of it was new. Of that, Jean was sure.

After a while, all he'd come across were some stray pieces of clothing or strips of cloth, some covered in questionable substances, and eventually he found a shattered window with dried blood streaked down a shard or two. Just below it, he saw drops of blood.

_Jaeger._

He dismissed the blood and window.

There was a large wall separating the wall, next to a staircase that went to a below floor that had gone previously unknown, and the second Jean passed it, it was like he was in a different building altogether.

This was what a trafficking stock warehouse looked like. With this, Jean was sure they'd gotten to the right place, they'd just gotten to it too little too late. Jean cursed under his breath, kneeling down to pick up a photo of a garishly thin, naked boy who couldn't have been any older than twelve. A sliver of disgust went through Jean's core as he read the details written on the child's 'Skill sheet.'

He wasn't sure he couldn't even finish reading it, his eyes scanning over select words that made his skin crawl.

He felt the need to crush the paper in his grip as if it could wipe away all of the terrible things this boy had probably gone through, but instead, he folded it up and put it in his pocket, promising himself that he would save that boy, too.

If they made it in time.

The rest of the room had cages, likely meant for large dogs, with shackles strewn about and old blankets that smelled like piss and blood.

He didn't know what those put in these cages were used for, assuming they didn't keep their product in plain view.

He went down on of the windowless hallways, keeping his black light roaming as he walked, trying to be careful and not miss anything carelessly. There were some stains that seemed to be blood dried on the concrete, but other than that, the hallway was unexciting.

There was an empty doorway that seemed to lead to a grimy kitchenette with a stove, fridge, and small dining set up. Jean reached a gloved hand out, pulling the fridge door open and scrunching his nose up at the smell. He hoped that this wasn't what they fed their captives.

He picked up a piece of paper off the counter to his right. It seemed to be a list of sorts.

"Names..." he murmured under his breath. It looked like a feeding schedule. Did that mean that this was what they ate? Damn, who knew how screwed up their immune systems would be when - If- they found them.

He folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket, hoping they had the name of their precious shifter on file to check for it on the sheet. Jean certainly hadn't seen it on the mission file.

He continued on once he came up short of anything else that could've been substantial and moved on. At this point, he knew he wouldn't be finding any people, but he hoped he'd at least find something.

He didn't, not for a good while. He found nothing upon nothing until he found stairs that went down to a bottom level, completely shrouded in darkness.

He flipped his regular flashlight on while still holding the black light in the other and slowly began sweeping the room.

He stepped further into the room, his flashlight making a large swing to the left and what he saw gave him pause.

He rubbed a hand down his face, his eyes fixated. "Damn, Levi's gonna want an explanation for that."

~

Eren sat cross-legged on the bed, watching Levi as he chatted with Erwin, writing in the margins of the mission folder.

"Yes, Eyebrows, I'm sure," Levi growled. He paused, glaring up from the page. "No," he grit out, "but Kirchstein's there as we speak so fuck off."

Levi shifted so his shoulder was holding the phone to his ear, "Couldn't you have done that in the first place? Hm...I understand," Levi muttered. Eren could barely make out his handwriting numbers. "Is that really all you can do? After sending us out here like this?" A pause. "Thanks for nothing, fucker." With that, he hung up the phone and dropped the phone on the bed with a soft _fwump._

"So?" Eren prompted hesitantly, almost unwilling to ask.

Levi sighed heavily, writing a couple more things before dropping the pen, too. "Eyebrows doesn't have anything. The best he can do is send a research team from the Corps and hope they can get us out of this fuckshow."

"In the meantime, what are we meant to do? Sit around while the people who were kept in that warehouse could be being slaughtered or sold off as we speak?" Eren asked, his arms waving around at his sides in indignation.

"No," Levi said firmly. He met Eren's eyes solidly. "We're not waiting around, I know we can't afford to. Have some faith, brat."

Eren swallowed, looking down guiltily. It wasn't Levi's fault and Eren knew that, he was just upset. "So? What do we do?"

Levi jerked his chin towards Eren's phone which was lying next to him. "Have you talked to your friend?"

As if summoned, his phone buzzed. Eren nodded, picking up his phone and reading Armin's text out loud, "I asked if he could tell if anything had changed from his end and he said... no. Nothing looks odd on his end, everything looks exactly the same."

Eren knawed on his lip as Levi leaned back, exasperation in every movement he made. "Shit," he sighed. "Kirchstein better find something."

Eren nodded in agreement, "We'll be pretty much dead in the water if he doesn't. We don't have anything else."

"How good would you say your nose is? Shifted," Levi asked abruptly.

"Uh," Eren scratched the side of his face, "Not the best. I've stuck my nose in one too many chemicals, bomb-sniffing is all its good for, really. Why?"

"If Kirchstein can find something to pick up a scent on, we might be able to at least start to figure out where they went," Levi said, "the team that comes to meet us would be able to take it from there."

"That's true. Domestic shifters have worse noses than wild ones anyway." Eren scrunched his nose, he didn't like the way admitting Jean's superiority in any fashion sat on his tongue.

"Get comfy then, dog breath," Levi said, kicking off his shoes and leaning back, his arms crossed over his chest.

Eren did the say, his arms behind his head.

All they could do was wait. Eren had never been good at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I started a Tumblr?** https://www.tumblr.com/blog/one-trigger-lullaby
> 
> Thoughts?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Long time no see. Sorry for the delay! I tried super hard to make this exactly 3k words and im v proud of myself.
> 
> Thank you for all of your kind words while I've been away! I've been super active on my tumblr tho so check it out

An hour had passed. The beginning of their meet up met them with dark skies and a cloud-covered moon, Jean sitting around with an unfamiliar bag slumped next to him. He looked up as the sound of brush being crushed underfoot met his ears.

"Where's Levi?" Jean asked as only Eren made himself known through the darkness.

Eren looked uncomfortable, eyes watching his sides as he came up upon Jean, his hands shoved in the pockets of his white jeans. "He was called somewhere else while we were walking here."

Jean stood, taking his sack with him. He frowned. "Where?"

"One of the city officials had some problem with our investigation, I guess," Eren replied. A breeze started to blow through, making the building just a few yards away from them creak. Eren winced.

Jean looked off to the side. "We should go back to the motel, then."

Eren nodded easily in agreement, his eyes still didn't settle, nerves apparent. Jean's lips quirked in suspicion as he studied the fidgety brunette.

"Afraid of the dark, Jaeger?"

Eren jumped at Jean's sudden comment, flipping around and blinking at him. "What?"

Jean's eyebrow raised on his forehead. They stared at each other, Eren blank and confused, but finally Jean shook his head with a sigh. It was getting cold. "Nothing, let's go."

Eren eyed the bag as he slung it over his shoulder. "What is that?"

Jean just wanted a nap, if he was honest. "Wait until we meet Levi, I don't think I want to open it more than once."

Part of Jean was afraid Eren would press, but the brunette didn't. He looked curious, but dropped it with a shrug.

~

Eren was uneasy. He didn't know if it was because he was uncomfortable with being in a new city with people he hardly knew, or if their case was fraying his nerves, but something about his place and the situation he was in set his hair on end.

He wasn't an anxious or jumpy person, never one to be overly suspicious or jump to conclusions. He prided himself in his ability to stay calm during stressful situations, something he probably owed to his Garrison training, and he felt weirded out of his skin with how skittish he'd been since Levi had separated from him.

Was something wrong with Levi? Is that was this was? 

Would he be able to tell with how little they knew of each other?

Eren didn't know, but he thought his nerves would calm once he was with Jean again, maybe feeling insecure without the cover of a squad, and they did--to a degree. Something still didn't feel right.

Jean was walking an easy stride beside him, that curious little white bag slung over his shoulder. The exposed muscles in his arms didn't seem to be strained, so Eren assumed the object inside of his mysterious bag wasn't that heavy, but it didn't help him in his quest to figure out just what the hell he was carrying.

This was one of those moments he just had to put his faith in his squadmate and hope he knew what he was doing.

The breeze waved through the trees, making their leaves rustle and their needles fall, Eren's ears pricking at every noise that wasn't the sound of their boots crunching on leaves and greenery.

He could see Jean giving him odd glances every once in a while, no doubt noticing his behavior, and Eren tensed every time, expecting the blonde to bring it up. Eren would, if it were someone else. Levi would.

But he didn't. Their walk passed in silence and a calm washed over him the second he was in their motel room. 

Jean dropped his bag rather roughly near the bed and Eren could feel his eyes following him as he immediately moved to the windows, shutting the blinds and curtains without any pause for thought or doubt.

He turned back, looking around the room. "Something wrong?" Jean asked, his voice erring on the side of caution.

Eren pursed his lips. "I don't know." He eyed the tops of the walls.

Jean looked with him, his arms crossing. "What do you mean?"

"I have a bad feeling," Eren answered honestly. "I want to check the room for cameras." He inwardly winced, waiting for his squadmate to tell him that he was just being paranoid like Mikasa would, but it never came.

Jean jerked his chin firmly, nodding. "We'll do a soft check first."

Eren looked at Jean in surprise as the other male got his phone out of his pocket, moving towards the lights. He turned back and looked at Eren with a frown. "Well?"

Eren went into motion, grabbing his on phone out of his pocket. He opened the camera on his phone and with a shared nod between them, Jean turned the lights out.

Eren heard Jean walk into the bathroom as he raised his phone to point to the tops of the walls, lingering in the corners

He let the camera slowly take in the whole length of the wall he was facing. It took a few minutes before he decided it had been checked enough and he turned to the right, starting on the next. 

Halfway through this wall, Jean came out of the modest bathroom. "Clear."

"So is the wall to my left," Eren mumbled, his eyes not moving from the slow movement he had going on his screen. He felt more than heard Jean come to stand behind him, likely taking care of the other wall.

Minutes passed, Eren was almost finished with the next wall. Jean's voices startled him out of the hypnotic state he'd ended wrapped up in. "Shit."

Eren's arm jerked. "What?"

"The room's bugged."

Eren flipped around in an instant, looking at Jean's phone over the man's shoulder. Sure enough, there it was, tucked in the corner. There was a barely visible light on the screen, invisible to the bare human eye.

"How do we take it out without damaging the motel?" Eren asked, biting his lip in uncertainty. It had to go, obviously, but he'd rather not demolish the room to do it.

Jean scoffed. "We're military, we can ruin cheap motel rooms." With that, he turned his phone off and moved to the turn the light on. 

Eren grimaced when he saw the blonde grab an odd hammer out of his bag, a sharp grin pulling at his lips.

Jean stood precariously on the table the television was sat on, leaning up and swinging his hammer back, aimed where the red light had been. Roughly.

Eren knew they wouldn't get in trouble. Erwin would, for sure, but he had a feeling Levi wouldn't be happy about it.

Probably because he would be the one hearing about it from their superior.

~

"Listen, dipshit. If you have a problem with us being here, take it up with my superior." Levi stood promptly, sneering down at the gaunt-faced man.

The man sputtered indignantly. "Captain Ackerman, I was advised by your superiors that you were an agreeable man that wouldn't give me or my city problems. Clearly, they were incorrect."

Levi's lips tugged into an even deeper frown and he moved to brace himself on his palms, set on the man's desk. "And I was informed that you didn't know anything about the trafficking going on in your city. Are you giving me reason to doubt you, Mr. Ishiki?"

The man gave a visible gulp, pale. "Are you insinuating something, Captain Ackerman?"

Levi narrowed his eyes at the man. "Do I need to?"

The man held his gaze for a fraction of a second before he dropped it, clearing his throat. "I understand. I'll make sure you and your team are no longer bothered during your stay here."

Levi stepped away, straightening and clasping his hands behind his back. "Thank you," he drawled. "I'll be sure to inform you of any advancements we make in the case, Mr. Ishiki, so cancel any trips you may have planned; I wouldn't want you to miss anything of...  _consequence."_

"Ah, well, that's not necesssar--"

"I insist," Levi cut in smoothly, eyes locked on the man like a stalking panther would his prey. "And I think you'll find it in your best interest to take my advice."

The man's eyes were wide, his mouth opened and closed without a sound.

"In addition to this, I'll have my superior send someone to keep you  _safe._ With all of the disappearances lately, we wouldn't want an esteemed man such as yourself to go missing and be forced into an unbecoming situation, hm?" Levi hummed, a dark sort of amusement swirling in his eyes.

"That-that's very kind of you, Captain Ackerman, but I wouldn't want to expend your resources during such a... a  _delicate_  time," The man stammered, clasping his shaky hands on the desk in front of him, clearly trying to regain any semblance of power he could.

"Don't worry about it. Consider it the Survey Corps's show of hospitality for our hardworking citizens," Levi replied smoothly. "Now, If you'll excuse me."

Tne man said nothing as Levi stepped towards the door.

He stopped with his hand grasping the handle. "By the way, tell whatever fuckhead you have working as your secretary they need a new mug."

With that, he opened the door and left, leaving Mr. Ishiki with his confusion.

"Mug...?"

~

The harsh smack of the evening chill greeted Levi as he stepped outside of the mayor's office, starting a brisk walk in the direction of his team's motel.

Idly, he picked his phone out of his pocket to check for messages. There was one--from the brat. He figured it would be something of a confirmation that he had retrieved Kirchstein successfully, but he got something else instead.

_...Bugs?_

Levi cursed under his breath. How the fuck had their room been bugged? His phone buzzed in his palm as a second text came in. 

**Received-Captain Dog Breath:**

**Jean took care of it**

Levi's brow furrowed. He'd read through both of their files extensively(Though he wasn't allowed all of Jaeger's information due to their equality in power) and nowhere did it say that Kirchstein was proficient in technology.

**Sent-Captain Dog Breath:**

**How?**

The next text was stalled a moment too long.

**Received-Captain Dog Breath:**

**He fixed it**

_Helpful,_  Levi thought with no little amount of disdain.

He had a feeling that the vice captain's expertise used to _'fix'_ this issue had nothing to do with technological know-how.

He tipped his head, rubbing his fingers into his eyes. First the mayor and now his squad? Idiots, the lot of them. Fucking dogs.

~

Jaeger was the one who answered the door when Levi knocked, not having brought a spare keycard with him on his unexpected venture. He looked freshly showered and didn't meet Levi's eyes.

"Why did you shower?" Levi asked. It wasn't as if nightfall meant their day was done, it was more likely than anything that he would end up filthy later.

He winced a bit. "There was... an incident."

He stepped out of the doorway and let Levi step in, still not meeting Levi's searching gaze as he gestured to the bedroom.

Levi heard the shower running as he walked past, likely Jean as he seemed to be otherwise absent, curiously so.

He knew what had happened the second he looked at the desk placed in the room, covered in white dust. Slowly, his eyes moved up to the corner of the wall, hovering above the desk, immediately he sighed. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"It... wasn't my idea?" Eren said with a hesitant lilt.  _"My_  idea was to check if the room was bugged. It was  _his_  idea to smash the wall."

Levi glanced at the brown-skinned boy. "What tipped you off?"

Eren shrugged, hunching a bit. "I felt paranoid, figured it would be a good idea just to be sure."

"Looks like your mutt side isn't totally useless. Good puppy," Levi drawled in a mostly joking manner, condescendingly patting Eren's damp brown hair. Eren seemed to brighten in response.

He didn't expect Eren to take it as genuine praise, but he wouldn't correct the man's enthusiasm.

Levi's eyes found a white-ish bag slumped near the bed. He gestured to it with a tip of his finger. "What is that?"

"I don't know, Jean had it when I met him and said it would have to wait until you got here," Eren said, giving a suspicious glance to the stagnant bag.

Levi hummed under his breath. The bag, it seemed, would have to wait then.

"And I assume nothing's changed on any other front?" 

"No. Where did you go?" Eren asked as Levi loosened the cravat at his neck, dirtied with specks of dirt.

Levi sighed with a rough, put-upon way. "The mayor of the city has a problem with what we're doing here."

"What? Why?" Eren asked with an incredulous snap.

"The fucker's probably making a profit off of it. Which reminds me: Have your old team assigned to watch over him."

"Why my old team? Why not just ask Erwin or Pixis to choose a team?" Eren asked.

Levi glanced at him. "Consider it a roundabout way to get your informant to work more closely with us. I'd rather all of our resources to be close at hand."

Eren hummed in understanding. "I'll contact Pixis to put through the request."

"Give me your sister's information while you're at it," Levi said. It would be useful to speak with the captain personally ahead of time.

"Okay? How did you know the captain of my old team is my sister?" Eren asked, his face twisting.

Levi gave him a look. "I read your file."

"Oh yeah," Eren laughed sheepishly, "I forgot."

Levi rolled his eyes. He returned to the matter at hand. "You're going to decide what the rest of your old squad does to assist us, I'm sure Pixis won't have an issue granting you temporary authority over them."

Eren nodded. "I'll request it. Anything else?"

Levi thought for a moment. "I don't want them to receive a mission file."

Erens brow furrowed. "Can I ask why?"

Levi swiped a hand through his bangs, long and leisurely. He took a slow breath. "No."

The brat's glare was worth it.

~

Jean dressed in the bathroom after his shower. There wasn't any particular reason beyond the fact that he could hear Eren and Levi talking in the room beyond the door.

Just to be clear: he didn't have an issue with his body-- he was hot-- he just really wanted to delay the inevitable conversation he knew was mere moments away.

His imminent demise, if you would.  _He_ would.

The second he slipped on his shirt, the last garment, he sighed.

He rubbed his short hair with the light blue towel the motel had stocked the bathroom with in bulk. He stared at himself in the mirror and hoped the dark-haired captain's response to his 'prize' wouldn't be as bad as he pictured it to be.

_No point in stalling, Kirchstein._

He dropped the towel on the floor and opened the door before he could talk himself out of it.

Levi was sitting on the bed, Eren leaning against the wall in front of him. They both quieted as he approached.

"You took your sweet ass time, Kirchstein," Levi remarked, his arms folding together.

Eren jerked his chin towards the white bag at his feet. "Ready to tell us what's in your super secret bag?"

Jean didn't reply, moving around the brunette to take said bag. Its weight was anything but a comfort, something indecipherable settling in his bones.

"I found this," he said, standing to the side and facing both of them, "in the basement of the warehouse. Levi should see it first."

Eren, likely sensing the seriousness in Jean's tone, didn't protest when Jean handed the bag to Levi.

Jean crossed his arms, feeling the need to do something with his hands as he awaited the black-haired man's action.

Levi untied the bag, looked inside, and scrunched his nose in an act of complete and utter disgust.

"Gloves." Jean handed them over readily.

Levi put the gloves on with no little amount of grace, the disgust plainly printed on his features long-lasting as he reached his covered hand into the bag.

An unpleasant scent wafted out of the bag and into the room as Levi displaced it. Eren's face looked similar to Levi's the second the object came into sight.

"A hand?" Eren asked, stating the obvious.

The disembodied hand hung limp, palm-up in Levi's hand. It was a cold tone of grayish purple, clearly having been sitting for a while but not long enough for it to decompose.

"And why..." Levi met Jean's eye, "... Did this catch your eye as something of importance?"

"Couldn't it be used for DNA?" Eren piped in.

"It wouldn't be any use," Levi said. "the possibilities that this belonged to someone of importance are slim to none."

"We should still check," Eren said insistently. Levi sighed but nodded to appease the brunette before setting his sights on Jean once more.

"Well?" he prompted.

Jean swallowed. "Turn it over."

Levi flipped the hand over with a quick flick of his wrist and his eyes landed on the back of it. His eyes widened and he seemed to stop breathing.

He looked at it for a long moment, saying nothing.

"...What?" Eren ventured, his body becoming visibly stiff as he picked up on the tension.

Abruptly, Levi stood, dropping the hand into the bag and dropping it on the floor with no frailty.

"I have to make a call," he said with a growl, exiting quickly.

Jean and Eren watched the door for a good while, even after it shut.

"What was that about?" Eren asked.

Jean really didn't want to explain it.

But he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Tumblr:** one-trigger-lullaby.tumblr.com
> 
> Thoughts? Opinions? Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, super Kwanzaa, happy new year
> 
> We've got about 78 pages of this fic now


	10. Sorry!

Sorry! This isn't an update but the chapter orders got all mixed up and I thought I'd tell everyone that it's okay now! Sorry

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like that was an appropriate prologue.
> 
> Thoughts?


End file.
